Darkest of Hearts
by FateRogue
Summary: When a teenage Carina Black and Harry Potter from another dimension appear and run straight into the older Carina, they thought it would be all fun and games. They did not know that they would bring a darkness with them that would slowly begin to affect the Carina of that dimension. Sequel to Blackest of Souls.
1. Chapter 1

**This follows eleven years after BoS. Carina and Hermione took in Teddy (who stays with Andromeda just about every weekend, and she babysits the others as well) and had Rigel Aries, Caelum Asterion, and Rosalind Callisto Black (because Hermione thought the tradition the Blacks had with names was fascinating and she** _ **did**_ **get the daughter named Rose she always wanted). Carina became an Unspeakable in the Travel Chamber (I made it up, it's for interdimensional travel, travel through dreams, etc) and Hermione is Minister of Magic. They are also married and have been since they were twenty-two/three.**

 **I decided to give this a shot, not really sure where it will go. You'll have to remember here though, it's been eleven years and having children, becoming a mother, it changes someone. You may see some differences, but I'll try to keep her true enough to who she is and not just make all her problems disappear (because I feel as though what's happened to her would have fairly lasting effects that spring up occasionally). Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.**

 **—Anaïs Nin**

If there was one thing twenty-eight year-old Unspeakable Carina Black knew, it was that people were not supposed to just fly through portals, much less two raven haired teenagers. When she had taken the job in the Travel Chamber at nineteen to study interdimensional travel and other dimensions in general, she had learned a lot. She had learned that if she jumped through the portal in the chamber, there was a very high chance she might not be able to make it back and would be stuck in the dimension she was in. She had learned that she may not _even_ make it through the portal and might be torn to shreds; she had also learned about the origin of such portals.

They were hard to make. Very, extremely hard. It would take a very powerful witch or wizard (or more) to create such a portal, and few had the actual innate ability to portal jump and not be lost in any dimension they went through with no way back. No, portal jumpers could go through unharmed, bounce straight back from whence they came, and there would be no problems except for whatever havoc they had wreaked in the other dimensions. The witch or wizard creating a portal had to channel all their magical energy into it, and she was positive it would leave them in a coma for weeks after because of the extreme toll it would take on their magical core, if it did not kill them first. Some people were simply lucky enough to make it through and back to their own dimension without needing to have or be a portal jumper.

The portal in the Travel Chamber had been created many, many years ago, and Carina had...tested it, for lack of better word. She did not go through, but she _did s_ end things through, and depending on the number of things or how large they are, the portal would be affected. The more things, especially larger ones, would cause the portal to shut itself off and take weeks to regenerate, even months (that had taken some explaining to do with her partner in the department), for it was taxing on the magic of the portal. Smaller things did not affect it much.

She knew a lot of things. But, two teenagers _did not_ just fly through portals like that, because the only real portal they could access was in the Department of Mysteries, and why would they be there in the first place, if at all?

She dove over the desk she had seated herself at to study, wand in hand in an instant, and she aimed it down at the two intruders, who were groaning and sitting up carefully.

She tensed, prepared for anything, but it struck her, then, seeing her own sixteen-year-old, scarless face staring back at her; the boy with the emerald eyes, glasses, and lightning scar beside her didn't help Carina any, either.

"Whoa!" breathed the girl, eyes— _gray_ eyes—widening. "That's me? Bloody hell, and _you_ thought I'd be all sweet and delicate looking!"

She stuck her tongue out at the boy next to her.

"Well, we can _clearly_ see I was wrong," he shot back, rolling his eyes. "Instead she's tall, scarred, and terrifying!"

"I'd go with tall, dark, and extremely fit, but whatever floats your boat."

Carina kept her wand trained on them, and, noticing that they were not paying her any mind other than mindlessly ogling at her, pointedly cleared her throat.

They ignored her.

"We float in the same boat, mate. I just have different taste than someone who looks nearly exactly like my sister."

 _Sister?_ The raven haired woman inwardly winced. _Merlin, I hope this isn't going the way I think it is._

Her younger counterpart, still on the floor, eyed her up and down and then turned back to the dark haired boy, who was adjusting his glasses. "True. Would it be wrong if I made a pass at myself?"

"I don't know, would it?"

"I just asked you that."

"Carina," the boy groaned, obviously exasperated. "I don't really know. That would be taking the whole love yourself thing to a completely different level, wouldn't it?"

 _Bloody hell, please don't tell me I fancy myself!_

"Maybe," the other teen shrugged, and then stood, brushing herself off; the boy followed. She took a step closer to Carina, who gripped her wand tighter. The raven haired girl shot the woman a charming grin. "Carina Black. Pleasure to meet you, me."

Carina ignored her outstretched hand.

" _Now_ you decide to pay attention to the witch with the wand pointed between your eyes?" she mumbled, rolling her eyes at the child.

"The _stunning_ witch with the wand pointed between my eyes." The grin did not waver, and Carina wondered if her other self was completely off her rocker.

"Rina!" the boy screamed, covering his eyes. "You're scarring me, you nutter!"

She paid him no mind. "So, an Unspeakable, huh? How old are you?"

"Too old for you," Carina told her flatly, stowing her wand away. They were no threat, that was definitely sure. "Twenty-eight, married, and with four children."

"Well, hell," the girl sighed dramatically. "And here I thought I'd see how good a kisser I am."

"Kiss your hand," the woman waved the teen off, before groaning. "Just tell me what dimension you came in from. Tell me about it."

"And why should we?" the boy suddenly chimed in with a cheeky grin, all sense of fear seemingly gone for now. "You've done nothing for us in return."

"I haven't killed you yet, but I wouldn't test my patience," Carina smiled wryly at him. She had already been here rather late and wanted to get home, but she couldn't with these mischievous little brats having fallen out of the portal, which was now smoking; she knew it would take months, at least, for it to regenerate. "I'm not a very nice woman."

"I like the naughty ones," her counterpart flashed her another smile, wiggling her eyebrows; Carina hoped she was kidding.

Carina sighed and crossed her arms, attempting to reign in her growing irritation. It was small, but slowly building. "Your perverted preferences aside, I asked you two a question, and I expect it answered."

The boy put on an innocent face and shrugged. "I've nothing to say. I mean, I'm still not seeing any offers for the information."

The raven haired woman closed her eyes for a moment and tipped her head back, opening them to stare at the ceiling. She did not speak. She had a few clues as to who these two had been raised by and the kind of dimension they had been raised in, if their well cared for, healthy appearances and general recklessness were anything to go by. She did not know why they had come through her portal, and she wanted her answers _now._

"She's not talking," she could hear the boy whisper to the girl. "What's she doing?"

"Thinking, I suppose," the girl whispered back, and then shrieked when she and the boy were suddenly strung up in the air by their ankles; Carina held no wand. Her hands were not raised; her eyebrow, however, was.

"Yes, I was certainly thinking," she told them sweetly. "Would you like to know what I was thinking about?"

"Let us down!" the boy shouted, attempting to grab for his wand, but both, his and the girl's, soared into her outstretched hand. "Oi, no fair!"

Carina ignored their protests. "I was thinking about how, since I'm married to the Minister of Magic, I could get away with murder right now. If I were to just...drop you…" Her brow shot back down, and the teens were suddenly falling, screaming; the brow rose again, and they froze in midair. "Well, your pretty little heads would splatter all over this nice, clean floor. I'd have to clean it up, but," she shrugged. "that's what magic is for. Too easy. And I do quite love watching people, especially obnoxious teenagers, fall to their deaths."

"Alright, alright!" the girl yelled, panicked. "We'll tell you anything, just let us down!"

She let them down, alright; they both plummeted again, but were stopped mere inches from the ground. The two breathed out sighs of relief, before they fell upon their heads with twin groans, both grumbling as they rolled over and got back to their feet.

Judging by the way they looked at her, however, it could be seen that she might have knocked some sense into them.

"Alright," the girl repeated, swallowing. "We were raised by my Dad and Mum, and Voldemort's been dead in our dimension for fifteen years. He's gone for good. Our best friends are my cousin Draco Black and Ron Weasley, and we're in our sixth year at Hogwarts, and we're all in Gryffindor. Draco stays with us a lot because there's nothing to do at the manor with his mum, and his dad is dead; Ron is over almost all the time, too, to escape his siblings. We both just turned sixteen. We came here because we wanted to have an adventure."

 _Draco a Black_ and _a Gryffindor, Voldemort dead, my parents alive...sounds like they've had a good life,_ Carina thought a bit bitterly. _Good for them. But I've got one thing they apparently don't, and that's Hermione. They didn't mention her. And, really, an adventure? I've had enough of that to last myself a lifetime._

"Is that all?" the boy asked hesitantly, his entire mood having shifted.

"No," Carina let out a breath, regarding them with sharp eyes. "We need something to call you both since you're obviously stuck here awhile."

"Er, she can be Rina and I can be James?"

"There's already a James here, and Rina is still too close to my name. There would only be confusion."

"He can be Evan and I can be Rose?" her counterpart suggested.

"Already a Rose here, too," the raven haired woman shook her head. "But Evan can stick for him."

"Callidora?" the newly dubbed Evan (formerly Harry Potter) tried. "It's a C name. It's even got Dora at the end, like Nymph's does." He glanced at his godsister.

"Alright," she nodded willingly. "Callidora and Evan. Close enough."

"Good," Carina finally allowed herself to nod once, and then turned on her heel and headed for the door. She stopped in the entryway and glanced back. "If you want a place to stay, I suggest you follow."

The two teens could not move fast enough.

~~~xxx~~~

When Carina entered her home, it was midnight and the moment she stepped through the door, she was accosted by three three-year-olds and an eleven-year-old, shaggy blue haired Teddy Lupin. She was quick to swing little Rosalind, or, rather, Rose, into her arms, seeing as the little brunette had reached her first. Next came Caelum, who tugged at her hand until she fell to her knees, and their brother Rigel clambered onto her lap beside his siblings, each fighting for attention. Teddy dropped to his own knees beside her and shifted so that he could sit cross-legged, yawning as he pressed into her side; she smiled at that.

He was not too shy when it came to affection like most boys his age were; he did not mind hugs and occasional kisses to the head or cheek. She was happy he had grown up so well, seeing as it had been she (with the help of Hermione) who had raised him. He called her Mom, Hermione Mum, and Carina didn't mind at all anymore; at first, she had been rather panicked, (she was only eighteen, after all) but now she was used to it and embraced it. He was _hers._

She glanced up at hearing a chuckle, and saw Hermione leaning in the doorway, looking rather tired but with a fond smile on her face as she watched them; Carina felt her own lips quirk up when she heard her three youngest all yawn.

"Mumma," Rigel mumbled, pressing his cheek to her shoulder. "We waited. We go to bed now?"

This time, she actually did smile; Mumma was what Teddy had called her when he was their age. Hermione had been Mummy, until he had changed their names off as he grew. She was sure the others would do the same someday.

"Yeah, kid," she told him, brushing aside his dark hair. "You go to bed now."

"They wouldn't sleep until you came to tuck them in," Hermione remarked softly, reaching down to scoop up Caelum and Rose. "I tried everything short of slipping them a potion. They wanted you here."

Carina got to her feet, hoisting Rigel onto her hip, and slid an arm around Teddy's shoulder as he leaned tiredly against her. "There were some...complications at work." She nodded toward Evan and Callidora, who were standing in the doorway and simply staring, unsure what to make of the sight. "I'll explain after we get them all to bed. You two," she narrowed her eyes at the teens. "find the living room and go sit down, it's just over there. We'll be back in a minute."

The two nodded and hurried off, while Carina made her way up the stairs and down the hall with Hermione; Teddy was deposited in his doorway first, and he blearily bid them goodnight before heading straight for bed. Next, they found themselves in the triplets' room.

The raven haired woman gingerly lay Rigel on his bed and pulled the covers around him, seeing from the corner of her eye Hermione doing the same with Caelum and Rose, dropping kisses to their forehead. Carina watched as she moved to do the same with Rigel, and then the two quietly crept from the room, shutting the door softly behind them.

Once in the living room, they found Evan and Callidora seated on a loveseat together, looking, still, rather uneasy. It appeared that they did not know their adventure wouldn't be all fun and games.

"Alright," Hermione announced, squeezing into an armchair beside Carina. "Explain."

"I was working and about to head home when these two," Carina gestured to them. "fell out of the portal. Came flying out, actually. They're from another dimension." She, at least, was allowed to tell this story because her wife was the Minister. She did not have to tell the things she studied or found out unless in a dire situation, but this was a simple enough matter that needed said, so no harm was done at the moment. "One where Draco is a Black and their best friend, his father is dead, Ron Weasley is their other best friend, they were raised by my parents, they're all Gryffindors, and...oh, did I mention that bloody Voldemort has been dead for fifteen years?"

"Dead?" Hermione frowned. "But that can't be. Here, he came back."

"Different dimension, different details. They decided they wanted to have a little adventure, and now we're stuck with them until the portal regenerates itself."

"It could really only be you and Harry that could get into this situation, you know," the brunette glanced at her, looking almost amused.

"I realize," the raven haired woman said dryly. "I thought the same."

"I just need to say something right now," Callidora interrupted, leaning forward. "Everything where we're from is great, amazing, really. But learning about other dimensions just seemed so wicked, you know? Definitely not an opportunity we could pass up."

"So we broke into the ministry," Evan added. "That's how we're here. We found the portal and just...jumped through."

"Your family and friends will miss you," Hermione scolded them. "They're probably worried sick about you. If I know anything about Sirius Black, it's that he's most likely already tearing the place apart looking for you."

"Mum isn't here, is she?" the raven haired teen glanced back and forth between the two, suddenly seeming to realize something. "You haven't mentioned her once. And you," she leveled her gaze on Carina. "seemed a bit off when we mentioned her."

"She died two months after I was born," Carina sighed. She had never liked talking about it, much. Twenty-eight years later and it was still a sensitive subject. "I never knew her. And my—our—father was framed and thrown in Azkaban until I was thirteen. You've no idea how lucky you are, nor what you've left behind."

"We may as well make the best of it while we're here," Evan defended, pushing his glasses up his nose. "We might not have done the _right_ thing, or the _smart_ thing, but now that we're here there's no sense in being miserable the whole time. You know, unless you lock us in your dungeon or something."

"We don't have a dungeon," Hermione could not help, it seemed, but laugh. "And we're not going to hurt you."

"She nearly did!" he pointed an accusing finger at Carina. "She nearly dropped us on our heads and made us splatter on the floor!"

"Carina!" the brunette turned to the other woman, who shrugged and leaned back in her seat, tangling their fingers together.

"They're not dead," she dismissed, waving her free hand. "Yet."

"Carina."

"What?"

"Really?"

"If you'd have been there, you'd have found them extremely annoying as well," the raven haired woman pointed at her counterpart. "That one kept flirting with me."

Hermione groaned, dragging a hand across her face. "You know what? I'm tired. I think we should all go to bed now and discuss this more in the morning. There are two bedrooms at the end of the hall upstairs the two of you can sleep in, and there's a bathroom down here and up there as well." She paused. "What do we call you, since there are already other versions of yourselves here?"

"I'm Evan," the boy raised a hand.

"Callidora," the girl put in, copying his motion.

"Alright, now that that's settled," Hermione mumbled. "Let's get to bed, shall we?"

The teenagers went up the stairs first and found their rooms easily, and when the married couple made it to theirs, Carina immediately changed into more appropriate sleepwear. She had been in robes all day, and she wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed with her wife and get some rest.

When she turned, she found Hermione standing at the window, looking out at the field surrounding their home; Carina leaned in close to her and placed a hand on either side of the other woman's on the windowsill.

"What're we staring at?"

"I'm just thinking," Hermione did not turn, but her hands slid over so that they were pressed against Carina's. "This is exactly the sort of thing to happen to us, isn't it? It's spectacular that such a thing happened at all, true, but we always do seem to draw in trouble. When Harry finds out…"

"When _everyone_ finds out," the raven haired woman corrected. "The other Weasleys are bound to be told, Harry and Ginny will insist. And Luna and Rolf will know, I'm sure." Rolf Scamander was Luna's husband, grandson of Newt Scamander, and he was a rather pleasant man. "After that, we'll have to figure out what to tell the press."

The brunette sighed. "Yes, I realize. It's my job to do it."

"My job, too, you know. They came out in my department. But I didn't say we had to tell them the alternate dimension story," Carina shrugged slightly. "We can just say they're relatives of yours or mine come to visit from somewhere across the country, and we're letting them stay."

"That doesn't sound like a bad plan," Hermione admitted, turning to face her. Carina looped her arms around her wife's waist. "Saying they're my relatives would be less suspicious. We can say they were homeschooled by their parents, who decided to take a vacation just the two of them or something of that sort, and we offered to take them for the summer. Does that sound alright? Believable?"

"Yes."

Hermione slumped in relief. "Good. I really didn't want to have to explain that we have an alternate Carina Black and Harry Potter from another dimension. But what about their looks?"

Carina shrugged again. "Transfiguration charms? If the other me is a metamorphmagus, she won't need to be altered, but we'll definitely have to do him."

Hermione only nodded and then yawned, detaching herself and making her way to the bed. "Come on, we've both had a long day and need some rest."

The younger witch followed along dutifully and slid beneath the covers. Two arms snaked around her waist as Hermione curled closer, and she could not help but smile.

She had never been luckier than when Hermione Granger (now Granger-Black) had decided to give her a chance. And now, they were married with children. It was definitely not a life she would have thought she'd have, but it was a good life, and she was happy, and for the longest time, there had been peace.

Until _those two_ showed up.

But she did not dwell on the teens sleeping just down the hall, instead merely closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overtake her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here's another chapter and here's to the hope you guys check it out and like what I've got planned as much as you liked Blackest of Souls, don't forget to review!**

" **Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past. We're so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about everyday, too many new things we have to learn. But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone."  
** ― **Haruki Murakami**

When Carina awoke, it was still rather early, judging by the clock on the wall and the darkness outside, so she did not move. Not that she really could have, anyway, with Hermione wrapped around her like a koala, legs tangled together, arms locked firmly around Carina's waist.

Just to test if she really _could_ move, the raven haired woman made to roll away; the plan failed, of course. Her wife only latched on tighter and, somehow, ended up on top of her, brown hair strewn about wildly; Carina spluttered for a moment and then spat out the hair that had managed to get in her face, brushing it aside.

She tipped her head back for a moment to stare at the ceiling, rolling her eyes, before she lowered it again to press a kiss to the head tucked into the crook of her neck.

Hermione could be a deep sleeper sometimes, nowadays, which was surprising considering the war; however, people healed. Carina did not have her tremors, nor her nightmares, for they were rare now, and she could sometimes sleep through the night without the smallest noise awakening her. That, she supposed, was from being a mother _and_ a soldier; she had always had heightened senses, to boot.

She did not know what she was going to do about the two teens in her rooms; frankly, she did not think she liked them very much. They were a bit spoiled and far too mischievous for their own good, she had noticed, but she supposed that came with being raised by Sirius and Marlene Black. (Or was she still McKinnon there?) She would never know.

Carina was mildly worried that they were not the only things to come from the dimension, though from what she had seen it appeared that they were; however, she could not shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. What if something _had_ come through? What if something somehow came through the portal again, like a portal jumper, who would be able to regenerate it simply for that purpose? That was the _only_ thing that could regenerate the portal, unless someone magical poured all their energy and magic into it, which would end them up either dead or in a coma.

She absently stroked Hermione's hair as she pondered, her free hand moving to fiddle with her wife's fingers; Carina sighed.

 _If something did come through, it could affect all of us. My entire family. The kids. I don't want that to happen, but there's also a chance_ nothing _could have come through and I'm simply over analyzing everything; but, then again, why would I feel like this if it were nothing?_

"I can hear the gears in your mind turning," came a hoarse whisper, and she flickered her gaze down to see Hermione lifting her head and regarding her with bleary eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Carina murmured back, completely aware of every move Hermione made as she shifted forward, releasing her hold on the raven haired woman's waist and propping herself up, forearms on either side of her wife's head. Brunette hair fell around them like a curtain, and Carina only watched.

"Nothing?" Warm breath ghosted over her lips. "Are you sure it's nothing?"

"No," the raven haired witch admitted quietly. "But we'll see."

"You can tell me anything," the brunette leaned in closer, suddenly seeming wide awake as she looked her in the eye. "you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Good." Hermione leaned down and kissed her; Carina tangled a hand in her hair and pulled her down closer, feeling warmth spread throughout her from her head to her feet. When her wife pulled away, Carina felt her lips twitch. "Am I crushing you?"

"If this is you crushing me, I'm certainly not complaining," the younger woman finally smiled. "In fact, I'm liking it a lot. It would be better if you were a little," she grabbed Hermione and pulled her farther down, so that they were pressed together. "closer."

Hermione at first had squeaked, but was now smiling down at her, their noses brushing, their eyes locked. "You…"

"I what?" the smile turned into wide grin, but Hermione shook her head, features smoothening out.

~~~xxx~~~

"You're gorgeous."

Carina actually flushed. "Hermione…"

"You are," the brunette lifted herself up a bit and trailed her fingers down Carina's bare side, where her shirt had ridden up sometime during her sleep, and over one of her scars. The hand ghosted up her side, her arm, and then over the scar on her face. "You're so beautiful it hurts sometimes."

And she was. The most beautiful person Hermione had ever met.

"Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good," Carina quoted softly. "A shining gloss that fadeth suddenly; a flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud. A brittle glass that's broken presently…"

 _Quoting Shakespeare to me? Two can play at that game, Rina._

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."

Eleven years ago, or even ten or nine or eight, such a thing as this would never have happened. But they had both changed for the better, had healed (if only somewhat), and to be quite honest, were infatuated with each other. Hermione saw the way Carina looked at her, the way she was looking at her now, the smile returning as she responded with, "I would not wish any companion in the world but you."

Hermione actually laughed. "You closet sap."

"Only for the lady," Carina flipped them over and hovered over Hermione, dark hair brushing the sides of the brunette's face as it spilled over her shoulder. She did not move again, merely stared, until after a few moments her smile grew, white teeth flashing from between her lips, and Hermione felt her heart stutter. Carina leaned in closer, their lips nearly brushing. "You know something?"

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

Hermione scowled and shoved her chuckling wife away. "You really know how to ruin a moment."

"We can have a moment in the kitchen," the raven haired woman was already out of bed and standing by the door. "Coming?"

The brunette rolled her eyes fondly and followed along, their hands brushing as they made their way down the stairs and to the kitchen. Carina sat down in a chair and waved a hand; ingredients began to spill out and the oven clicked on.

Everything began to prepare itself, and Hermione raised a brow at her. "You do realize how lazy that is, don't you?"

"You do realize _you're_ the one who wanted a moment, don't you?" Without warning, the older woman was pulled down onto Carina's lap, and there were a pair of lips attached to her neck.

The moment was short lived, however, when loud footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, and Hermione and Carina both groaned when they realized that Teddy was awake; Hermione leaned back into her and shut her eyes in exasperation.

The now black haired boy burst into the kitchen then, and when he saw that breakfast was being prepared, grinned.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "I was hungry."

"You," Carina pointed at him. "Are a terrible child."

"What did I do?"

"You exist, you little mongrel!" She waved her arm, but he only laughed and came around to the chair to hug them both, kissing their cheeks.

"Morning to you too, Mom. You too, Mum."

"Hello, dear," Hermione greeted, finally opening her eyes and sighing, though she felt a surge of affection for the boy. "Sleep well?"

"Fine," Teddy shrugged, before bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands behind his back. "Can I go wake the kids from last night up?"

"I don't think—"

"Do it," Carina cut across her. "Go wake the triplets while you're at it. Have them assault the girl while you dump a bucket of water over the boy."

 _Oh no. Those poor kids..._

"Got it," Teddy grinned, and he raced away before Hermione could protest.

"Carina!"

"What? They're infuriating," a kiss was pressed to her jaw, but when Hermione struggled, she was released.

"That doesn't mean we let our children assault them! They're guests!" the brunette shook her head and made her way to where Carina's mug of coffee was attempting to float over and snatched it from the air, passing it to her wife as she grabbed her own tea.

Carina took a long drink of the coffee and leaned back in her chair, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. "I give it ten seconds."

Hermione seated herself at the table. "Until?"

She knew perfectly well what would happen, however, and so the raven haired woman did not answer until they heard a considerable racket from upstairs; there were unintelligible screams, shrieks, and howls of laughter before there was what sounded like a herd of elephants running down the stairs.

"That."

Teddy came bursting through the door first, then Rigel, Caelum, and Rose, who were quickly followed by a thoroughly soaked Evan and a very tousled looking Callidora, whose hair was strewn about at odd angles, clothing wrinkled, and one side of her shirt slipped down to reveal her shoulder. She, it appeared, had had a very rude awakening.

Rigel threw himself into Carina's lap, followed by Rose and then Caelum, making the woman grunt and her chair to topple over; she fell to the floor with the three strewn over her and spread her arms, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Hermione raised her brows and leaned over her. "Are you alright?"

"I…" there was a pause. "Am happy I put my mug down."

"Mumma, we woke 'em up!" cried Caelum, and she let out another grunt as he bounced earnestly on her leg. "I helped Ted get that guy!"

He was pointing to Evan, who had adjusted his glasses and pushed his hair back, glaring, though not altogether angrily so much as rather exasperated and playful.

"Yeah!" Rose exclaimed, and she leaned in very close to her mother's face, grinning. "And me and Rigel went and got her," she pointed to Callidora, who made a face at her. "and we beat her up!"

" _I_ didn't beat her up, Mumma," Rigel corrected, sticking his tongue out at his sister. "I just helped roll her off the bed. Rosie did all the beatin' up."

"Do we get a galleon for doin' it, Mumma?"

"I'm hungry, Mumma!"

"Mumma, I want some juice."

"Hey, Mumma, can we go to the park?"

"Mumma, can I have a hug?"

The questions came so rapidly that Hermione began to laugh, watching as Carina blinked up at her three youngest, who were now all hovering over her face with eager expressions.

She was very good with the children, Hermione had learned. When she had moved in with Carina when the other woman was nineteen and she having just turned twenty, she had seen how good Carina was with Teddy. The boy had loved her then, and she him.

When she had been the one to carry the triplets, Carina had fought off anyone who touched her with a snarl, and had went out to get her whatever she wanted or needed; she had not hovered, but she had certainly always been there. At the birth of the triplets, Hermione had seen how awestruck she was at the newborns, seen her eyes gleam in the light, the smile that had stretched across her face and not went away.

Hermione had moved in when Teddy was two, so she had had to adjust to being woken at odd hours of the night by one, or all, of the babies screaming. Carina, however, had just tiredly, automatically, rolled out of bed and went to take care of it, sometimes rousing Hermione as she went and sometimes not. There were times when the brunette would open her eyes and find Carina seated in the chair beside the large crib, fast asleep, and other times she would find her wife lying in bed next to her with a baby curled against her chest. She loved them all unconditionally, aimed to give them the best childhood possible and never once struck them; she tried hard not to raise her voice and, more often than not, succeeded. It was very rare she yelled, or, rather, got a bit loud. That had only really happened when little Rose had toddled off somewhere around the Potter home and been missing for an hour. Carina had been so worried, then, that she had scooped the girl up into her arms and not let her go for several minutes.

It was refreshing, seeing the change, the person Carina had become as opposed to the person she had been. There were still trials occasionally, sure, but they were not very often and things had been working out for the better. Though Carina was doing so well, however, Hermione had no doubt that she would kill, maim, or torture anyone who harmed her children, her wife, or anyone she cared for, period. Especially her children and her wife. This was not a sentiment to be taken lightly. Hermione had seen what Carina was capable of, seen her do terrible things, but she loved her anyway for the person she was, and not what she could be.

And so here they were, Carina now standing with Rigel and Caelum on each hip, Rose clinging to her back as she rolled her eyes and huffed, but nevertheless twitched her nose and wiggled her fingers so that their plates were filled and floating to the table within seconds. She sat each of them down in a chair and gave Teddy his plate, but she had ignored the two teenagers standing in the doorway still, watching.

Hermione decided it would be best if she took over, there.

"Grab a plate and take whatever you'd like," she told them. "I think that, after breakfast or lunch, we can spare some time to go out and find the two of you some clothes and such since you'll be staying awhile."

Callidora and Evan both thanked her and took seats at the table after grabbing plates, and when Hermione seated herself next to Carina, she could see the two already joking with Teddy and teasing the triplets, who were going along with it and giggling at their words. The two were telling Teddy all about their dimension already, and though Rose, Rigel, and Caelum did not know what was going on, they pretended to anyway.

As more talk of life with Sirius and Marlene came about, Hermione noticed the slightest frown tug at Carina's lips. There was no other outward reaction aside from her silence unless one of the children spoke to her, so Hermione put it from her mind for now in favor of planning the trip ahead.

"Carina," she said quietly, as to not disturb the conversation the others were having. "What are we going to do with the children when we take Evan and Callidora out for clothes? Should we leave them with Andromeda, or Harry and Ginny?"

"I can watch them," Carina muttered back, leaning back and pushing her plate forward. "You can take the other two out."

"Why don't you want to spend time with them?"

The other woman turned to regard her, gray eyes roving over her face. The corner of her lips lifted, if only slightly. "I don't fancy having to listen to my younger self flirt with me, Hermione. Like I said, they're irritating little buggers and I'd rather stay home with the kids, anyway. I'm not in the mood to go out. But you can go have fun with them. Things will be alright here."

Hermione hesitated. This was certainly not the first time Carina had watched all four at once, and really, Teddy was a big enough help and she knew how to keep the younger children occupied. The only time the house had been anything resembling destroyed was when a month or so ago, Carina had offered to watch James, Albus, and Lily, Harry's children, while Hermione and Ginny went out on a girl's night and Harry and Ron took care of Auror business.

That had been chaotic to come home to. Seven children to watch was easy for a mother like Molly Weasley, but Carina Black had no experience with such a thing, especially when all of them were so _young,_ and therefore the house had been a complete mess, but at least the children had been happy and Carina only exasperated with the situation as a whole.

"Things will be alright here," Carina repeated, and she reached out to grip her wife's hand. The brunette snapped to attention.

"I know they'll be," Hermione offered her a smile, and received a small one in return as the hand covering hers pulled back. "I think we'll head out around lunch."

The raven haired woman hummed in acknowledgement and turned to listen to Rose, who had been calling out to her.

~~~xxx~~~

The moment the door closed behind Hermione, Callidora, and Evan, Carina turned to find all four of her children standing in a line side by side, merely staring at her.

"What?" she crossed her arms and raised a brow. "Got nothing better to do than stare?"

"Mum told us not to ask," started Teddy. "But we wanted to know, where did you get your scars? You've so many…"

 _Bloody hell._ Carina cast her gaze from one child to another, and decided immediately that if she was going to tell anyone, it would be Teddy. Rose, Rigel, and Caelum were too young, but Teddy was old enough to be told some things. Things like this. She did not have to tell him the whole story yet, or what she had done; he might very well hate her after, although.

"You three," she directed her attention to her youngest. "Go play in the playroom."

The three began to protest, but a sharp look had them scampering off, and she followed them, closed the door, and made her way to where Teddy still stood, nodding toward the living room. He followed along obediently and took a seat on the couch; she sat herself on the coffee table across from him and leaned forward, clasping her hands between her knees.

"Alright. What is it you want to know?"

"Just, where you got them," the boy cleared his throat, obviously unsure but still very serious about this. "And how long ago. You've had them for as long as I can remember, but Mum always said not to ask. Said it wasn't polite."

 _Of course she would. Though, I'll tell him nearly anything within reason._

"I got this one," she pointed to the faded scar (much like how Harry's lightning bolt scar had) on her face. "and these," she pulled up her shirt and ran her fingers along the lines crisscrossing her torso. "when I was fifteen. Harry and Draco Malfoy were dueling in a bathroom and when I found them, I tried to stop them from killing each other. Neither of them took it well, and Harry decided to block me off with a spell he had read but knew nothing about. It did this. I'd fallen back, covered in blood, and blacked out. When I woke, he and Malfoy were both gone and Snape was there with his wand out; if not for him, I'd be dead now, not alive with scars to show."

"Wow," Teddy breathed. "I can't believe Uncle Harry did that."

"He didn't know what he was doing," Carina let out a breath. "I assume he's regretted it ever since." Her fingers moved to the scar on her side. "This one I got when I was seventeen. Ron Weasley and I both got splinched, he missing part of his arm and me, my side. Hermione took care of us both. The rest I don't remember much. There was a war, Ted, so they must have happened along the way."

"Oh." He was silent for a few moments, brows drawn together, before he hesitantly asked, "Mom? What about the ones on your back? They-they look like...like…well…"

He did not want to say it. Frankly, she did not either, but she did anyway, finishing for him, "Lashes."

"Did it...was it in the war?"

"No."

"Why?" he finally exploded, distraught as he most likely pieced together the scenario in his mind. "Who could do that to you?"

"Very greedy, cruel people, that's who," Carina reached over to grasp one of his hands in hers, and he gripped it tightly as he listened, leaning forward in his seat. "I spent my entire life being beaten down and told I was worthless, Teddy. I didn't get a chance to know true friendship or love until I met your Mum, and then Harry, and Ron." She acknowledged the man she had learnt to tolerate, speak civilly to, for he had indeed been a good friend in her childhood. "We went through so much together, and I promise I'll tell you more when you're older, but that was the happiest I'd been in a long time. I didn't go back to those people anymore. I stayed at the Grangers, or the Weasleys, and it was amazing. And then I met my father, and I kept him company in that house of his...we helped each other."

Teddy knew all about Sirius Black and how he had been framed, knew all about his birth parents, even; he knew nothing about how Carina had been in Azkaban, however, and she inwardly debated whether or not to tell him.

"Why aren't you friends with Ron anymore?" Teddy picked up on this. He knew the man, had went with the Potter children to stay at his home, and at several other Weasley's homes, was even friends with his children, though they were younger than he was. (He much preferred Bill Weasley's children, who were closer to his age)

"You sure you want to know?"

The grip on her hand tightened, and unashamedly, her eldest son grabbed her other one and squeezed it, too, expression extremely serious. "Tell me."

"I was framed, too," she stared at their hands as she recalled the memories she tried not to think about anymore. "like my father was. I was framed by Bellatrix Lestrange, my cousin and your great-aunt, for the murders of Percy Weasley and Dan and Emma Granger."

"Grandma and Grandpa? Really?" Teddy frowned. "You got a trial, though, right?"

"Yes. I got a trial," Carina paused, studying his face; his still black hair, amber (oh, how so like Remus's) eyes, and his fair skin, unblemished and not marred like hers. She shook her head. "I got one. But they didn't test me with Veritaserum like I wanted. All they knew was that I was seen at the scene of the crime, and they wanted me locked up. So they did. I was put in Azkaban, in my father's cell, and left there for a year."

"Mum didn't vouch for you? Or Harry or Ron? No one?"

"None of them. They thought I'd went mad, and Hermione was too consumed by grief to think straight at the time. I've forgiven her. But I found out something, later on."

"What?"

"Someone _did_ try to help me. They tried to get me out."

"Really?" Teddy tilted his head to the side, earnest now. "Who? Did it work?"

"No, it didn't," she shook her head again, and purposefully met his eyes. "But Remus tried his damndest—don't tell your Mum I said that."

"I won't." Teddy let out a breath, and his eyes shone at the mention of his father. "He tried?"

 _Merlin, I loved that man,_ she thought wistfully. He had been an uncle, a second father figure, and he had been there for her every step of the way since she met him.

"Every step of the way, he told me," Carina smiled faintly. "Until he couldn't. They'd have locked him up or had him executed for trying to help a criminal. When they found out I was innocent, I was set free. Remus was the only one I would really talk to then. I hated Ron Weasley after that, because he could never understand. Harry steered clear of me."

Teddy swallowed. "And Mum?"

"She tried to talk to me. She tried to apologize. I didn't want to hear any of it, because it hurt too much to listen, or to be near her, because then, I loved her, and I didn't want to admit it to myself. I wanted to hate her for leaving me like that, my first friend, but I couldn't."

 _I'm happy things turned out the way they did._

"And you made friends with Luna?"

The raven haired woman actually snorted at that memory. "It was more like she forced her friendship on me," she shrugged. "But I'm grateful. I wouldn't be here, I think, if it weren't for Luna. I'd have run away a long time ago. Is that all?"

"Yeah," the boy let out a breath and released her hands. "Yeah, I think so. I reckon I can wait for the rest. Thanks for telling me, Mom."

Carina stood and extended her hand to him; he allowed his mother to pull him to his feet, and she slung an arm around his shoulders and glanced down at him. "Now, how about we go play with the triplets?"

"Sounds good," he smiled up at her, and off the two went.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's three-remember, people, reviews would be great!**

 **Dance beneath the stars**

 **as you drink in the night.**

 **Let the thunder overtake you**

 **as lightning fills the sky.**

 **Feel the force of nature**

 **penetrate your skin,**

 **spin with the world**

 **as the magic sinks in.**

 **—Christy Ann Martine**

When Hermione returned with Callidora and Evan, each of them laden with bags, she called out for Carina; there was no answer. Cautiously, for she did not know what would happen, she sat her own bags down in the entrance hall and edged around the corner and past the living room; the two confused teens did the same.

"What is it?" whispered Evan. "D'you think they're waiting to prank us or something?"

"That happens a lot at our house," Callidora added.

"I don't know," Hermione said softly, creeping down the hallway. "It happens sometimes, but not very often, and always because of Teddy and one, or all, of the triplets. But I don't think that's it. Let me see…" she opened the closed door to the playroom, for it had been silenced so that the children could make as much noise as they wanted without disturbing anyone. When she looked inside, she straightened and laughed.

She was not worrie. She knew exactly what had happened. The children had, it seemed, conned Carina into playing a game of "Chase", in which their mother would shift into her alternate form and chase them around the playroom or even the house, and then attempt to "eat" the one she caught unless the others "killed" her first. It had been a game invented around a year ago when the triplets were younger, and it had stuck ever since. Sometimes, Hermione even joined in. (Though in those instances, when she was caught, Carina would shift back and kiss her, which would then cause the children to make faces and demand they continue the game. Teddy only smiled)

"What is it?" the raven haired girl beside her peeked around the corner, and the sight she saw made her jaw drop. "Bloody hell, why is _that_ _here?!"_

The black furred wolf's ears pricked up at their voices, and the child pinned beneath it's paws, Caelum, glanced over as well. It bared its teeth.

Evan made his way forward slowly, wand drawn, and Hermione realized that he thought he was saving her children. Teddy sat calmly in the corner, watching with a hand over his mouth to cover his snickers, and Rigel and Rose were both smushed together in a beanbag, watching with bright eyes and flushed cheeks.

" _Stupefy!"_ Evan shouted, brandishing his wand, but the wolf only leapt to the side and straight for him; he yelped and attempted another spell, but when he hit the ground, it was not a wolf leaning over him, but Carina, teeth bared in a snarl.

"Wicked," breathed Callidora, putting her own wand away. "I'm an animagus."

"I am," Carina said without missing a beat, getting to her feet and scooping Caelum up into her arms. "You're not."

"We were playing chase, Mummy!" Rose cried, rushing forward to embrace Hermione around the legs.

"Yeah!" agreed Rigel, rushing over to do the same. As Hermione smoothed back his dark hair, he grinned up at her earnestly; she realized that one of his teeth was missing. "It was fun!"

"When did you lose your tooth, darling?" she asked him, tilting his head up so that she could see it better.

"While you were gone, Mummy," Caelum piped up, and his raven haired mother carried him closer with a roll of her eyes when he tapped her shoulder. "I knocked it out on assident."

"Accident," Hermione corrected him, but smiled nevertheless at her sons. "Well, despite the circumstances, I bet you're glad you'll be getting a visit from the tooth fairy, Rigel."

"Uh huh!" the boy grinned again.

Rose tugged at her sleeve. "Mummy, when will _I_ lose another tooth?"

"When one of your brothers knocks one out," Carina told her, a small smirk curling at the corner of her lips when the girl immediately turned to Rigel and pointed at her face.

He shook his head quickly, taking a step back. "No way, Rosie, I don't hit girls."

"Mumma?" the little brunette turned to her other mother. "Will you knock one of 'em out so I can get a visit from the tooth fairy, too?"

Hermione noticed something flash through Carina's eyes, and the woman actually recoiled. She, it seemed, could not speak for a moment, until she finally managed as firmly as she could, "No."

Rose pouted.

"We got all the clothes," Hermione cut in hastily. "Don't worry, I didn't let them get any prank objects, either. I don't think I want to know what would happen if I had."

"You don't," the two teens said in unison.

Carina hefted Rose into her other arm, and when Teddy came to stand by them to join the conversation, Rigel scurried to her side as well; they made quite a sight, all the children dark haired (though not near as dark as their mother's, which was black, bar Rigel, who did indeed have her hair) and fair skinned, the boys with gray eyes and Rose with brown. Even Teddy had dark hair, though his amber eyes glinted in the light as he grinned at Callidora and Evan, shifting his features to that of a pig snout.

"This reminds me of what Nymph does," Evan laughed. "How are you a metamorph, Teddy? I forgot to ask. Is Carina one, too?"

"She is," Teddy answered him, and when his nose shifted back, his shoulders drooped and his smile faltered. "But she's not my birth mum. We...we're cousins."

"Really?" the dark haired boy across from him (Hermione realized, then, that she was in a house full of dark haired people with herself being the sole light haired brunette as opposed to her children's darker brown hair) frowned. "Who's your mum and dad, then?"

"Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin."

"Nymph?" Callidora looked and sounded surprised. "And Remus, really? But Remus isn't married, and Nymph is with Charlie Weasley."

Hermione watched as Teddy's smile completely dropped. "They-they aren't together there? I don't exist?"

"No." Evan shook his head, looking mildly apologetic. His frown deepened. "And, actually, Remus and Nymph don't talk much. Not really. Order meetings don't happen anymore, and while she's around for dinner a lot and she and Remus talk then, they're only friends."

"Oh." The younger boy swallowed, more bothered by this than he would admit, it seemed. Hermione moved forward to pull him into her side, running a hand over his hair.

"Different dimensions, Teddy," she reminded softly. "A lot of things aren't the same. Don't take it to heart."

She could hear Carina whispering to Evan and Callidora, and the next thing Hermione knew, her youngest children and the teenagers were gone, and Teddy was standing there between she and Carina, looking incredibly lost.

"I just thought that they were meant to be together, you know?" the eleven-year-old sighed. "I thought no matter what dimension, they'd still be together and some sort of me would be there."

"Hermione and I aren't together there," Carina told him after a moment. Hermione glanced up at her. "I don't think we ever became friends, even, the way they speak. No one is always meant to be together, not everywhere."

 _Even us._ the thought struck Hermione, who had spent seventeen years of her life knowing this woman, and six of those married to her. It had not occurred to her that, in another dimension, another time, she may have chosen Ron Weasley instead of Carina, and then...Carina would be... _No. I can't think of that now._

She tried to change the subject, if only for the sake of their son, who still seemed rather dejected. "How is it that they're younger than we are, Carina? I never asked you. I wondered, but the excitement made me forget. Shouldn't we be the same age?"

The raven haired woman seemed to sense what she was doing and shook her head. "Time travel and dimensional travel sometimes go hand in hand. Not enough that a time traveler could travel dimensions, but enough that someone from another dimension could have come from a past dimension, which would mean twelve years ago, in this case."

Hermione frowned. "That makes sense, but yet, it doesn't."

"It doesn't have to. It's just the way it is."

"But—"

"It's the way it is."

"Carina—"

"It's the way it is, Mum," Teddy finally spoke up.

"Teddy!"

"Mum!"

"You're ganging up on me, really?"

"Of course not!" Her son, however, smiled at her, betraying his previously solemn face.

 _Well, at least he's in a better mood._

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh, he is," Carina confirmed instead, before she reached down to scoop the boy,who let out a startled yelp, into her arms. She grunted and sagged under his weight, but forced herself to straighten again and tilt her chin up as she briskly brushed by her wife. "My side, my child. Isn't that right, Lycus?"

"Mom!" Teddy struggled for a moment, but when he realized he was not going to be released, stopped and suddenly stared at her, a grin working its way onto his face. "What did you call me?"

 _And here it's started,_ Hermione sighed fondly.

When the triplets had been born when Teddy was eight, the boy had felt left out, for everyone else had a traditional Black name, and though he treasured his own due to the link it provided to his birth parents, he felt left out. So, Carina had drawn out a book when they got home, and they looked through every name they could think of; they had come up with Lycus Castor Black for his alter ego, and the child had loved the name ever since, especially when he found that Lycus meant wolf. It had been yet another link to his father and a running nickname for him ever since.

"Lycus. You'd think you'd know your own name," the raven haired woman scoffed. "Merlin, I didn't raise you to be a fool, did I?"

If her lips hadn't twitched halfway through, Hermione would have thought her to be a bit harsh, but then again, even without, she knew Carina was not cruel to her children.

"No," he shook his head, and his grin only widened.

"Then you're on my side?"

"Definitely!" Teddy glanced sideways at Hermione. "Sorry, Mum."

"I'll get you for it later," his brunette mother teased, and watched as Carina trudged down the hallway with the boy in her arms; the effort had to be painful, but her wife was anything if not persistent.

Hermione stayed leaning in the doorway of the playroom, and as she listened to the thunk of what was obviously Teddy being dropped to the floor, wondered what changes would be brought with the arrival of the two new teenagers.

~~~xxx~~~

A week later, when Carina was back in the Travel Chamber in the Department of Mysteries, she found her partner, Ryan Riggs, standing in front of the portal, staring into it with his fists planted on his hips. He did not turn, but he heard her footsteps and spoke.

"Something came through."

"Yes," she replied calmly.

"People?"

"Yes."

"Who were they?"

"My alternate self and the alternate Harry Potter. Teenagers."

"You've got it under control?"

"Yes." Or, so she hoped. She had been trying to act normal, but something still did not feel quite right.

Riggs finally turned. "Are you positive? Nothing came through with them?"

"I don't know," she regarded the man she had worked with since she was nineteen-years-old. "Nothing feels right anymore. They could have. But I've seen nothing."

"If you're feeling like that, something had to have come through, Black. Nothing feels right here, either. The portal doesn't."

"It could just be the regeneration process."

"You and I both know that isn't it," he ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Their world didn't have any Dark Lords or anything, did it?"

"They said there weren't," the raven haired woman shook her head. "But there could have still been Death Eaters and that information was just hidden from them. However, I saw them fall through. There was no one else, nothing else. Just them."

Riggs began to pace. "You're _completely_ positive? The problems that could be caused if something slipped through…"

" _I know,"_ she snapped at him, finally losing her patience. "I understand there will be consequences. Bad things will happen. But I've got my hands full. You'll have to take over the majority of the research and inform me if you find anything."

"I get it," he gave her a dry smile. "I'll get right to it. You, on the other hand, should get back to watching those kids before they cause any trouble."

Carina scowled at his mocking tone, for the man knew exactly how to rile her up with just a word. However, he meant no harm. They were both just frustrated. "That's what I was going to do; that is, after I help you begin the research."

Gone was the loving mother and devoted wife, and back was the commanding and intelligent Unspeakable. Riggs nodded at her.

"I'll get the notes."

~~~xxx~~~

"Carina, you're exhausted."

Hermione watched her wife give her a brief glance, before she leaned heavily on the windowsill, bracing herself with her palms on the edge behind her. Her raven hair hung in messy waves around her face, obviously a product of having run her hands through it several times, and there were dark circles under her eyes. It had been two weeks since the arrival of Callidora and Evan (who had both been given the surname Hunter for the purpose of their cover), and she had been leaving early and coming home at late hours, all but collapsing into bed each night.

"I'm fine," the other woman hoarsely muttered, and turned her head away when Hermione moved in close and moved to touch her cheek.

Hermione lowered her hand, frowning and rather worried. "Listen to me. You need to rest. I know you don't want to admit it, but you _are_ exhausted—you need to sleep, Carina. Take a day off. Spend some time here."

"I have work to attend to."

"So do I, and yet here I am."

"My work is different."

The brunette raised a challenging brow. "No different than being responsible for the wizarding community here as a whole?"

"Hermione," Carina sighed and ran a hand through her hair; she ducked her head and offered an apologetic, barely there smile. The hand that had tangled itself in her own hair instead moved to Hermione's and threaded through it; the older woman leaned into the touch.

After a moment, Hermione grabbed her wife's hand and gripped it in her own. "Rest. Please, Rina. I'm worried about you."

"Hermione," came the sigh again, before Carina pushed off the windowsill and released Hermione's hand, proceeding to remove her robe and begin to change into her nightclothes. As she did so, Hermione flipped back the covers on the bed; when she turned, she caught sight of Carina standing in front of the the mirror, gray eyes staring at her shirtless form as though transfixed.

At first, Hermione did not understand why; that is, until she did.

Carina was staring at her scars. She was remembering.

"Carina," the brunette edged closer, but her wife did not move. "Carina!"

The raven haired woman blinked once and turned her head to regard her.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," Carina told her softly, swiftly slipping on her nightclothes and making her way to the bed; Hermione followed. When they got in the bed, it was Hermione, this time, who tugged Carina in close, allowing the other woman to put her head on Hermione's shoulder. She did not protest, merely pressed closer.

"Are you sure?"

There was a long few moments of silence, and Hermione watched the way fingers curled into the fabric of her shirt. Finally, when words did come, they were abrupt, unexpected. "I had a conversation with Teddy awhile back, about my scars."

The older woman recalled telling the children not to ask about them, because it was rude and because she did not want Carina to be bothered by it. If she dwelled on the past, it would only consume her, hurt her, and Hermione did not want that.

"And?"

The brunette waited patiently for a response and did not ask anymore on the subject; there was no point. Teddy had been a curious child as she had been, she could not fault him for that, for wanting answers.

"I told him how I got them."

"Did you tell him about…?" she could not say it, could not bare to think of the time she had abandoned the person she loved so much.

"Yes," was the whispered reply, and she glanced down to see Carina's eyes flutter for a moment, before she allowed them to fall closed; still, she spoke. "For what it's worth, he doesn't hate you. That's all I told him, all I was going to tell him, until he asked about my back."

Her back.

 _The lashes,_ remembered Hermione, tightening her grip on the younger woman. _Those terrible scars._ They were scars she had run her fingers over during many nights, mourned over the childhood her wife had never gotten a chance to have, the horrors she had seen. She had not known love, nor kindness.

"Until you." Hermione glanced down at her, startled that Carina could know what she was thinking, and though the younger woman's eyes did not open, she murmured, "I know you, Mione. Don't worry over it."

"I can't help it," the brunette sighed, and it was then that gray eyes blearily opened to regard her.

"I'm alright." Carina lifted herself up after a small struggle, for it showed, then, just how tired she really was. She pressed her forehead to Hermione's. "I'm here. Time has passed. I'll live. I'll take tomorrow off, too."

 _I hope so._

"Thank you," Hermione said instead, and the raven haired woman did not answer, merely dropped back down and curled closer, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Hermione dropped her head to Carina's and held her tighter.

~~~xxx~~~

Carina sat in the meadow outside with her children, Callidora, Evan, and Hermione, relaxing with her back against a tree. She had spent the greater majority of the day taking the children flying, even racing against Callidora and Evan, impressing them with her tricks. They had had a picnic in the meadow, and so far, today had been a great day.

It was warm, there was a cloudless blue sky above them, and as she closed her eyes, a slight breeze rustled her hair.

She was at peace, finally. She briefly wondered why she had not taken a day off sooner, but then remembered just as quickly; she had been devoting her time to the Travel Chamber and Riggs, trying to discover what could have come through the portal with the teens. _Something_ had come through, that much was true, but they had absolutely no idea what, and it was worrying. She had been stressing over it for weeks before the other night, when Hermione had gotten her to get some well needed rest and coaxed her into joining them today.

She was glad she had. Obnoxious teenagers or no, she had still enjoyed the evening thus far.

"Mumma," Rose came running over and tumbled into her lap, giggling at her fall, seemingly not bothered that she had stumbled. "Today's great, huh?"

"Yeah," Carina leaned back, watching as her only daughter rolled onto her back and rested her head on her mother's lap. "Very great."

"Mumma?"

"Hmm?"

"D'you think Mummy is pretty?"

The raven haired woman quirked a brow. "Depends, why are you asking?"

"I dunno," the girl shrugged. "You love each other lots, and Uncle Harry thinks Auntie Ginny is awful pretty. Uncle Rolf thinks Auntie Luna is, too."

"I think," Carina gazed down into the brown eyes identical to those of her wife's, and brushed some of her daughter's hair aside. "That your Mummy is the most breathtaking woman I've ever met."

"Really? How?" Rose pushed herself up and plopped herself down on her mother's lap, straddling her legs, but nonetheless getting the desired effect of being able to face her.

Carina did not know why she was having this conversation with a three-year-old, but decided she would answer anyway and chanced a glance at Hermione, who was sitting a short distance away with Teddy and the others, laughing.

"You know how it feels when you fly, Rosie?"

"Like my belly does flops?"

"Yes."

"Your belly does flops when you look at Mummy, Mumma?"

"Yes," the raven haired woman paused, thinking of another way to explain that the little girl would get. "When I look at your Mummy, she takes my breath away. But you know something?"

"What, Mumma?" the girl gazed up at her with wide, innocent eyes.

"I don't just like your Mummy for her looks. I like her for what's in here," she tapped her daughter's chest, just above her heart. "and in here." She lightly poked Rose on the temple, causing the child to giggle. "She's the smartest person I know, and the kindest, and I love her because of that. Not just because she's pretty."

" _Oh,"_ Rose nodded solemnly. "You like Mummy because she's pretty inside _and_ outside, like the princesses in my book."

Carina couldn't resist a chuckle at that. "I suppose."

"Then, that makes you a prince." The little girl bit her lip thoughtfully, before her brown eyes lit up. "Or a knight! Yeah, Mumma, you're a knight and Mummy is a princess!"

Carina's brow shot up, and she wondered how she could have helped create a child like this, so sweet and so innocent. "If you say so, Rosie."

"I'm gonna go tell Mummy!"

The raven haired woman attempted to snatch her daughter, but the girl was already scampering away while she called after her, "Rose, Rosie, come back, no—"

But she had already told Hermione everything, and she shot Carina a wide grin and moved over to sit beside her when Rose had finished.

"I make your belly do flops, do I?" she inquired teasingly. "I'm your princess?"

Carina Black actually flushed.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'll throw**

 **my**

 **voice into**

 **the stars and maybe**

 **the echo of my words will**

 **be written for you**

 **in the clouds by**

 **sunrise.**

 **All I am trying**

 **to say is;**

 **I will love**

 **you**

 **through the darkness.**

 **-Christopher Poindexter**

Things had been running fairly smoothly the next two weeks after, and Callidora and Evan had been there a month already. However, Carina did not stop working late in the Department of Mysteries and kept coming back more stressed than ever, and tonight she had come through, collapsed into bed, and fallen asleep shortly after.

Her sleep had been peaceful the first few minutes, until she had begun to writhe and whimper beside Hermione in bed in a way she hadn't for years. She was having a nightmare, and when Hermione attempted to wake her, everything seemed to go wrong all at once.

Carina's entire body shook, head whipping this way and that as she lashed out furiously, and Hermione ducked under a fist as this happened; her wife suddenly bolted upright and let out a scream, one that drew out into a frightening, eerie howl.

Her eyes snapped open, and her breathing was ragged and erratic as she attempted to get out of the bed, only succeeding in falling to the floor in a tangle of sheets. She struggled violently, and Hermione leaned over the side of the bed.

"Carina," she tried. "It's alright!"

The raven haired woman did not respond, merely screamed again in frustration before she finally freed herself and scrambled to her feet, racing for the door; Hermione sprung to her feet and raced after her, just barely managing to skid to a stop before the door.

Carina's eyes were wide and frantic as she cried, "Move, you have to-have to move, I need to get out!"

"Why do you need out?" Hermione attempted again desperately. "Carina, snap out of it!"

Her wife shook her head wildly. "No, no, I need out, need out, need to get out of here and find Dad, find Remus, _anyone—"_

"They're dead!" As much as it pained her to even say it, she had to, though it caused the younger woman to shake her head again, harder this time, arms drawn around her torso, fingers digging into her upper arms.

"No, I need to talk to him, they're coming, they...I need Dad, I need Remus, they're coming back for me, I can't, I need them, I need them…" Carina did not seem to be herself, not this extremely frantic and frightened creature; never before had something like this happened. She had never leapt straight from the bed and tried to run before.

"Rina—"

" _You don't understand!"_ the other witch suddenly surged forward and grabbed her upper arms, shaking her hard. Hermione winced. "I need them! They're coming for me, I need them, they'll protect me, Dad said he would never let me be hurt again, said no more lashes…"

 _Oh no._

"Rina," said Hermione, feeling her eyes well with tears as she reached up and cupped Carina's own cheeks. "I'm so sorry. They're gone. They're both gone, darling, there's nothing we can do about that. They aren't here anymore."

"But he said...he said no more...he said I'd be safe, said I wouldn't be hurt anymore…" hot tears rolled down her wife's cheeks and hit Hermione's hands, while wide, hazy gray eyes stared back at her. "I can't protect myself, not from them, who will help me now? I'm alone, always alone, always, always…" Carina squeezed her eyes shut. "Make it stop, Hermione, make it _stop,"_ as the brunette gently stroked her face, one final word escaped her, then, " _please."_

"You're not alone," Hermione drew the other woman in close, slowly at first, and pressed their foreheads together. Carina's eyes were open, now, still filled with tears, gleaming brightly in the dim light. The poor woman was a mess. "I'm here, Rina. I'm here. It's alright."

"Something is coming," the raven haired witch whispered, almost as though in a trance.

"What's coming?" the older woman stilled her movements abruptly, feeling worry overtake her. There was no answer. "Carina, what's coming?"

There was still more silence as Carina only stared back at her, unblinking, before she suddenly attempted to jerk away; Hermione held her face firmly. A low whine broke free of Carina's throat as she averted her eyes.

"Carina?"

"I don't know," hoarsely came the answer, and the other witch shook her head. "I don't know. But it's coming for someone."

"Coming for who?" Dread filled Hermione, then, as she watched Carina carefully. She was not herself and she was rambling, but something did not seem right; something was very wrong here.

"Me."

That was the night that everything changed.

~~~xxx~~~

Carina did not acknowledge what happened the following days after, though she did remember what had happened that night, because right after her proclamation, she had blinked furiously and then proceeded to say, voice almost too low to hear, "Please tell me I didn't hurt you."

Things changed. She was more...distant. And sometimes, Hermione would notice the way her hands would shake when doing something, how she would stiffen when one of the triplets made to hug her or grab her hand. When anyone would touch her, really. Not to mention the fact that, lately, it did not seem like she could stand to be in the same vicinity as Callidora and Evan, especially when they mentioned life in their dimension, Sirius, or Marlene. It upset her, it seemed.

Something was terribly wrong. Carina had not had nightmares, or at least, not frequent ones, in years; recently, however, they had gotten to be every night, and instead of continue to wake Hermione as she had the first few days, Carina would now retreat to the living room and lay down there, instead. It was suspicious, not to mention worrying, how unhealthy Carina was looking as of late when just a month prior, she had been perfectly fine and happy.

Hermione knew there was something Carina was not telling her, and so, she settled for observing first, hoping to gather some sort of information before she outright asked.

They were eating dinner at the moment, and as per usual, Callidora and Evan were regaling Teddy and the triplets with stories of life in their dimension.

"—Remus was so angry," Callidora was telling them, grinning."But then Dad walked around and handed him this huge bar of chocolate, and his eyes got so big…"

"He said he'd pretend the prank we'd just pulled never happened, for once,  
Evan added, laughing. "All because of the chocolate. After that, Uncle Padfoot decided that we should all have a Quidditch game of our own, so he brought all the Weasleys over, roped Aunt Marlene and Draco in, and we had a wicked time."

"It sounds great," Teddy said wistfully. "I wish I could go there, just once, like you're here now…"

"Maybe you could," Callidora's eyes brightened, and she exchanged a look with the teen beside her. "We could take you through when we go through, you stay for a couple months until the portal regenerates—"

"And then we stuff you back through," finished Evan. "Have to make sure we aren't caught, of course…"

"No," came the sudden, sharp, quiet voice from the end of the table. It was accompanied by a thunk, and Hermione turned her head to see that Carina had stabbed her fork into the table and was gripping it tightly, brows drawn together and eyes alight.

"Mom," tried Teddy. "I just thought that, maybe it would work, and I could meet Dad, and...and…" he stopped short for a moment, before finishing lamely, "Mum."

"I wish I could see them, too," the scowl appearing on her features did nothing to reassure the boy. "But they're gone, here. They wouldn't be exactly the same, they'd be different."

The boy deflated. "I didn't think of that."

He seemed quite sad about it, and Carina narrowed her eyes at Evan and Callidora, who both returned the stare. They, it seemed, were braver than they looked.

"Come on," Callidora protested. "He's old enough to make his own decisions, don't you think? He wants to meet his parents, no matter the version."

"He's not old enough, and neither were you when you threw yourself into a portal that very well could have killed you," the raven haired woman hissed, just low enough that the triplets could not hear. "You still aren't."

"It wouldn't have killed—"

"You got lucky. It could have torn you to shreds and left your pieces floating about throughout existence for the rest of time," Carina leaned forward, and suddenly, she did not seem like the woman she had become. She seemed almost like...like…

 _But it can't be. She hasn't been like that for years!_

"Well, at least we were brave enough to take a risk! We're here, aren't we? I bet you've never done one interesting thing in your life!"

"I could tell you all sorts of _interesting_ things I've done, but I don't want to _frighten_ you." Carina smiled mockingly.

"You're a liar," Callidora pointed at her, face turning red. She, obviously, was a hothead; Evan, seeming to sense that something was very off, was attempting to stop her from speaking more. "You seemed cool at first, but now we see who you really are."

"You know nothing about that," Hermione could see her wife's hands on the table begin to tremble as her fingers dug into the tablecloth. "Nor will you ever, you pampered little prat. I'm glad I didn't grow up like you."

"Shut up!" the girl slammed a fist on the table, and Hermione caught Teddy's eye across the table; he swallowed hard and looked between his mothers and the teens.

 _Is she alright?_ he mouthed.

 _No,_ Hermione mouthed back, feeling dread overtake her. _Get the others and go to the playroom with them. I'll see you shortly._

He did not protest. He ushered the three complaining children from the kitchen, into the hall, and down to the playroom, shutting the door behind them.

"You've no idea the things I've been through, nor who I really am. Teddy is my son, and I wouldn't put it past you to try and drag him off with you if you can—"

"You're not his real mother!"

Evan visibly paled when Carina went abruptly silent and slowly stood; Hermione sprung to her feet as well, wand slipping into her hand in case something happened. Callidora did not seem to care, and drew her own.

"Say that again," Carina whispered dangerously. "I dare you."

"You're not his _real mother._ I know her, and she's ten times the witch you are!"

The girl was suddenly strung up in the air by her ankle, and her wand fell from her hand as she dangled; however, this time, when she fell, she went plummeting hard onto the table. She grunted and rolled off, snatching up her wand as she leveled it at Carina and yelled, "Stupefy!"

The raven haired woman ducked under it and came up with her own wand out and raised, gray eyes dark and flashing; Hermione reacted just in time and erected a shield between the two sides.

Carina's head whipped to the side, and she trembled with fury. This was not her. She was not this quick to anger, not this quick to harm, not anymore.

" _Something is coming."_

" _What's coming? Carina, what's coming?"_

" _I don't know. I don't know. But it's coming for someone."_

" _Coming for who?"_

" _Me."_

Now it made sense. The something wasn't a person. It was darkness, obviously left over and lingering in the other dimension, perhaps from the defeat of Voldemort, waiting to latch onto the right person to possess…

 _And now it's found it. Carina_ , Hermione realized. _It's taken her because she was the best vessel._ And for numerous reasons, too, she knew. Though Carina had been half asleep and trapped in her mind during that night, she remembered it vividly; this must have been what Carina had been researching for so long.

"Put the shield down," the raven haired woman commanded, and she was actually glaring. "Now."

"Carina, this isn't you," Hermione told her, and though her wand was not raised, it was ready at her side.

"I want to kill her. I think that qualifies as me," the other woman's smile was dark, frightening, even. "You've seen what I've done to others. Now, I want to kill _her..._ or, I suppose, myself."

 _Killing herself, but not really killing herself...that sounds wrong on so many levels…_

This was almost like her during the war, except this woman was different. Just as frightening, surely, but somehow...colder. Just different in general.

"You'll have to go through me first," Hermione straightened and firmly added, "They're innocent, Carina. Exasperating, irritating, but innocent. And your children are in the playroom right now, wondering what's going on. Teddy is worried for you."

Carina's wand lowered, and she frowned deeply for a moment before shaking her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment; when she opened them, they were their normal gray color as opposed to the darker, nearly black they had been before.

"Teddy?" she blinked rapidly, and then shook her head again. Her eyes flickered to Callidora and Evan, to the shield, and back to her wife, before she abruptly bolted down the hall and, presumably, to her children.

Hermione followed.

~~~xxx~~~

Carina dropped roughly to her knees in the playroom before her children, who were all sitting on the floor and playing with their toys; or, rather, the triplets. Teddy was just watching them.

"Mumma!" cried Rigel, and when he flung himself at her, she allowed herself to fall back onto her rear and scooted against the wall, pulling him into her lap and hugging him tightly to her.

"You okay, Mumma?" Caelum clambered up beside his brother. He pressed a chubby hand to her cheek, concerned. "You looked mad."

"Yeah," agreed Rose, who had crawled over and pressed herself into Carina's left side. "Real mad. Was it 'cause you don't want Teddy to go away?"

"Ted," the raven haired woman managed instead, swallowing hard. She beckoned him over. "Come here."

The boy carefully scooted over, and she wrapped her free arm around him (the other was around Rose) and tugged him closer. She pressed her cheek to his head; he did not move, merely leaned against her.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured to him. She had known, she had _known_ that something had come through, that something bad would happen. And it had. Whatever had gotten hold of her was only bringing forth things she would rather not remember, bringing back the nightmares and the tremors, and it felt like everything was just now happening all over again. Her closed wounds had not just reopened; they felt as fresh as when she had first gotten them. The dark feelings inside of her she could control for now, but what would happen when she couldn't? "for anything I do. Something is very wrong, Ted. They brought something with them they shouldn't have."

She could feel Rigel and Caelum shift closer, yawning, and Rose snuggle into her side; that was good. They did not need to hear this.

"Are they trying to hurt you?" Teddy whispered back, and lifted his head, worried amber eyes regarding her.

"It was unintentional," she swallowed again. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but you need to know. Something dark followed them here, and it latched itself onto me. I was...I was in a war when I was younger. I wasn't the person I am now, I did terrible, terrible things. I'll want to do them again. When you see me get angry like that, get the others and hide."

"Will you hurt us?"

"Me? Never." Carina prodded his shoulder with a finger, and he reached up a hand to grasp hers, sensing what she wanted. The triplets were already dozing, worn out from the day they had had. "I'll be honest with you, though; whatever comes over me, it might make me try."

"But, that won't be the real you, right?" Teddy gazed up at her, brows drawn together. He appeared a little frightened.

"No," she shook her head furiously. "No, it won't. If I can help it, I won't do anything to you, Ted. Any of you. But if that happens, Floo to Andromeda's, or Harry and Ginny's, or even Rolf and Luna's, and stay there. Let Hermione handle me."

 _If she can._ Carina knew she was powerful. She knew _Hermione_ was powerful. She just hoped that she herself didn't completely lose it and attack her, because she knew Hermione would not be prepared to kill, and with the way things were going...Carina just might. _I hope she_ does _kill me if I try._

As much as the teens that had come through irritated her, she did not want to kill them either, not really. Perhaps she wanted to send them a few stinging hexes or frighten them,but kill? No. She did not want that. The problem would be, however, was that she probably wouldn't regret it. The only things she would regret doing were hurting Hermione or her children; it would _really_ send her spiraling off the deep end if she killed one of them.

"Teddy," came a quiet voice from the doorway. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, Mum," he hurriedly told her, and his other mother winced at the penetrating brown eyed stare she received. "Are Callidora and Evan okay?"

"They're fine. Callidora will have a bruise or two in the morning, but she's alright."

"Good," the boy let out a breath of relief. "D'you want me to leave so you can talk to Mom in private?"

"Please."

Teddy cast a glance back at Carina before he pulled away, stood, and left the room. Carina very carefully leaned over to deposit each of the triplet's onto a beanbag; they did not wake.

She did not remove her eyes from the wall when she sat back again, even when she heard the thump beside her, the telltale sign of Hermione sitting beside her.

~~~xxx~~~

"Carina," Hermione said softly. "I know. When were you going to tell me?"

Carina worked her jaw before answering. "When I had it handled."

"When you had it handled?"

"Yes."

"Carina!" the other witch felt a twinge of irritation. "This isn't something you should have kept from me."

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does!"

"I thought I could handle it. I wasn't positive anything would happen."

"We don't keep things from each other, Carina." Hermione watched her wife carefully, but she made sure to keep her voice even this time. "I would have told you what was going on so you could try to help."

"Riggs and I have been looking for ways to get rid of it," Carina's hands trembled as she clamped one fist over the other in her lap; Hermione could see her fingernails digging into the back of her hand.

"And you've found?"

"Nothing. We've found nothing."

"You still should have said something," the brunette murmured. "I'd have tried."

"All you've done is try," the raven haired woman finally turned her head, and the dark spots under her eyes were more prominent than ever. She looked tired, almost sorrowful. "I'm sorry."

Carina Black was not one for self pity. That was not what this is, Hermione knew. It was genuine fear of what could happen and what she would do, this was ruefulness for dragging her wife into what she assumed were her problems and hers alone. She didn't _want_ to hurt her family; her time for killing had past, her time for revenge. All she wanted now was the peace she had had for a small number of years, a peace she had never experienced before the war had ended.

"Carina," Hermione could not help but sigh as she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. Noticing that her wife had drawn blood, she reached over to clasp one of the younger woman's hands in her own, while she used the other to tug her closer. Carina did not budge at first, merely glanced down at the blood that had appeared in the crescent shaped marks on the back of her hand. However, after a moment, she wiped the blood on her pants, turned her head to face Hermione again, and hesitantly held up a hand.

Gray eyes roved over her face, and when the brunette did not move, Carina gingerly cupped her cheek and stroked her wife's jaw with her thumb; Hermione felt a jolt at the contact. She was reminded, then, of the way things had been during the war, the way they drew strength from each other, the way Carina would glance over in the middle of battle to be sure she was alright, the way they held each other at night to escape the horrors their minds wrought upon them when they were alone.

The raven haired woman studied her intensely, and then, not altogether gently but not unwelcome, pulled Hermione into her arms and held her tightly.

"Everything will be alright," Hermione told her softly. "Things will work themselves out."

"Even if they do," came the muttered reply. "What will we do in the time between?"

"I don't know." And she didn't. Hermione did not have the faintest clue of what was going to happen in the coming days, weeks, even months, but she knew they would have to be prepared. She also knew she would have to have a talk with Callidora and Evan about their behavior earlier—or, rather, Callidora. What she said was uncalled for and she had no right to say any of those things. Carina was indeed Teddy's _real_ mother; she had raised him, loved him, accepted him, and given him everything he had ever wanted within reason. He was happy here. But neither of them could stop the yearning for the birth parents he would never know; however, that did not mean the two teens could just suggest taking their son through a portal without their permission. That had irritated her a bit, too.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me something." Carina lifted her head and leaned back slightly.

"Anything," Hermione said immediately.

The gray eyes regarding her were very serious, as was the expression of her lover in the now dim light of the playroom, which had previously only been lit up by the light streaming through the window. "If I go mad…"

A feeling of dread hit the brunette suddenly. "Carina—"

"No," the raven haired woman swiftly cut across her. Her eyes were hard. "If I go mad, if I try to hurt one of the kids, or, Merlin forbid, I try to hurt you...I want you to kill me."

"It won't come to that." Or, she desperately hoped not.

"If it does," Carina gripped her chin and angled Hermione's face so that the brunette was forced to look at her again. "Kill me. Promise me, Hermione."

Her stomach churned at the thought. Could she really kill her wife, the mother of her children, if she really _were_ to go mad? She knew how dangerous Carina could be, had seen what she was capable of; if she even stood a chance, how could she?

 _Because your children would be at stake, that's why. You wouldn't harm her if it were her or you,_ a voice inside her whispered. _But your children…_

Hermione knew it was right. If it came down to she or Carina, she probably could not kill the younger woman. But if her children were about to be harmed, if her wife actually went off the deep end and tried to do something terrible to them, Hermione would not hesitate to protect them. She did not know what would become of her after, although, and that frightened her more than anything.

 _If I go mad, if I try to hurt one of the kids, or, Merlin forbid, I try to hurt you...I want you to kill me._

 _Kill me. Promise me._

No matter how much the mere thought made her heart clench painfully, how just speaking the two words felt like someone was strangling her with a rope, or how hot tears were rolling down her cheeks, Hermione did not back down. She had made her choice.

"I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's another chapter for the few who actually read this; inspiration has struck me so I managed to get this done.**

 **The roses have wilted,**

 **The violets are dead,**

 **The demons run circles,**

 **Round and round in my head.**

 **—Unknown**

When Luna Scamander found Carina Black the day after her outburst, the raven haired woman was sitting alone in her bedroom, (alone in her home, as a matter of fact, because Hermione had had the foresight to send their children and teenagers in their care to Andromeda's) head bowed and hands clasped between her knees. She was unmoving except for the steady rise and fall of her shoulders.

"Hermione sent you," the older woman muttered without looking up. "Luna, you don't need to babysit me."

"I wouldn't have come if that was what she'd asked," Luna reminded her lightly, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "because I know you wouldn't like it. And, quite frankly, I wouldn't want to babysit you, anyway. You're my friend, not my charge. We're both grown women."

"But Hermione _did_ send you."

"She suggested I come, yes, after she had told me everything that's went on while I was helping Rolf on his escapade. I'd been planning on visiting tomorrow, but I wanted to see if you were alright, you see, so here I am."

Carina finally glanced up through a mess of raven hair. "Yeah?"

"Of course. How are you?"

"How do you think, Luna?" the blonde was given a wry look.

"Not very good, I'd expect," Luna frowned a bit, an idea suddenly striking her. "Have there been any effects? Have you felt a bit too...different?"

"No." Carina was obviously not telling the truth, and the younger woman, ever patient, raised an eyebrow in response; her friend rolled her eyes, but went on to grumble, "I've been hearing voices."

"And?"

"And nothing. It's not like I'm...possessed or something. But I hear them in the back of my mind near constantly, and keeping up my Occlumency shields to shut them out gives me a constant headache. They...whisper things," the raven haired witch's hands, which had unclasped themselves, began to quiver, and she trapped them between her knees. "bad things. That doesn't phase me. I've thought worse on my own. But my temper gets shorter sometimes, especially when I don't like something that's going on; the other night….Hermione told you about it, correct?"

"Yes." Luna nodded and listened intently.

"It's like that. I was really going to kill that girl, but Hermione had to physically stop me—hearing Teddy's name, hearing that my children were probably frightened and confused in that playroom, _that's_ what hit me."

Hearing that Carina's temper was shorter was a bit of a worry, because it had not been very short to begin with, and what problems she had she had dealt with as they had all gotten older, managed to reign it in. She had been able to last a fairly long time before she truly blew a fuse, so to speak, and got very angry.

"I see," the blonde noticed that not only were Carina's hands shaking, but now her legs were, too, and carefully reached over to seize her friend's hands and take them into her own; Carina flinched. Luna did not mind. "What worries me is the voices. You're positive you're not able to be possessed?"

"Pretty positive, yes," Carina let out a breath and raked her eyes across the wall; her arms jerked involuntarily, and Luna gripped her hands tighter. The other woman did not seem to care. "I can feel it in here, somewhere, deep down. In the deepest recesses of my being and my mind, it's there, I know it is. I feel like something is going to go wrong, Luna," gray eyes finally fell upon her. "terribly wrong. I can keep myself in decent control now, but I'm slipping. I've been having nightmares every night, and each one is worse than the last; it's like I'm sixteen again, fresh out of Azkaban and getting thrown into a war. Everything hurts again, and it really shouldn't be because for the longest time, it didn't. Not much. I wake up in a frenzy, and more often than not, when I come to, Hermione is trying to comfort me or I've pinned her to the bed because I had no idea what I was doing or who she was."

Luna could see that her friend felt terrible about that. She cared for Hermione greatly, deeply, and waking her every night in a panic was not something she would want to do; almost harming her was even worse. She could also see that Carina was worried about what she may do, that she may hurt her children, spouse, or friends. Luna could not blame her for that; inwardly, she cursed fate.

 _Why is it always she or Harry who bear the brunt of every problem that arises?_

"I don't know," Luna admitted honestly, quietly. "It seems like quite a problem, and something to be cautious about. I'll not lie, if I were you I would be worried about losing control of myself, too. If you _aren't_ capable of being possessed, then this darkness is merely feeding off of what was already inside of you and increasing it tenfold, thus making you more susceptible. Perhaps that's why you were the vessel, though; because of who you are, how you've suffered, and what you've done. Perhaps it could be because you were the most likely candidate to do harm and lose yourself, or because of how powerful a witch you are." Carina opened her mouth, but closed it when the blonde squeezed her hands firmly and went on. "But if you _can_ be possessed, it could only get stronger over time and eventually take you over. I hate sharing these with you, but they're only a few possibilities in a range of many, so I wouldn't worry too much over them. We just need to hope for the best and make sure nothing happens. I trust you can control yourself. No one has a stronger will than you, except perhaps Hermione."

Carina offered her a dry smile. "Leave it to you to tell me that everything possible can go wrong, and then tell me to still have hope."

Luna shrugged rather unapologetically. She much preferred to be truthful with her opinions and thoughts rather than censor them, and she knew that Carina would rather her be that way, as well, even when the news or ideas she were delivering were bad.

"I suppose it's the Ravenclaw in me."

"You know," Carina said abruptly. "I was nearly put in Slytherin."

"Really?" Luna tilted her head. She had never been told that before, though it was not altogether surprising.

"Yes. Though I lacked a sense of self preservation, I had the sheer cunningness that only a Slytherin could really possess, and the ambition to pull anything I wanted off. However, Gryffindor, then, was better suited for me because the bravery that had lay dormant in me for so long was so intense. Loyalty, too, though I was not exactly just or hardworking enough for Hufflepuff; too reckless, hence the lacking of self preservation. I had the cleverness, but I didn't often use it unless I was in a situation dire enough for me to. So," the raven haired woman shrugged. "Gryffindor."

"That's certainly interesting," the blonde found herself unable to stop the slight smile from gracing her lips. "Sirius would be turning in his grave, wouldn't he?"

"Maybe," the other woman hummed, though her eyes grew darker. "But he'd have loved me anyway."

That, they both knew, was true. Carina had carried a lot of emotional baggage, as had her father, but he had cast his own problems aside (or attempted to) to help his daughter through her problems. She had done him good, just being around for company; they had patched each other up the best they could. It was not, perhaps, the most conventional father/daughter relationship, but given the circumstances, they did the best with what they were given and loved each other through all the pain they had each suffered.

"I know I do," Luna replied gently, and she could see Carina's lips briefly twitch, feel her shaking gradually begin to subside until her hands were still and gripping Luna's own back just as tightly.

"Thank you," the raven haired woman stared at their hands for a moment, before ever so cautiously untangling them and reaching out to grasp Luna by the shoulder, tugging ever so lightly in her direction. The blonde got the message and scooted closer, and when she felt Carina's arms slowly encircle her, allowed herself to release the breath she had been holding. She had thought for sure that her friend would have pulled away by now given the circumstances, but was glad she had not. There was a cheek pressed to her head, and a mumble of, "I'm dangerous, you know."

"No more so than you were before," Luna wrapped her arms around the older witch's torso.

"It's worse."

"It has the potential to be."

"I realize how ridiculous this sounds, but I very well _could_ hurt you." It was very like Carina to pull her in in such a way and then tell her to run away while she still could; it was odd, but Luna also knew that it was her way of giving Luna one last out, though in reality, she did not want her to go at all, did not want to be alone. Hence, the pulling in.

"I trust you." She did. Luna trusted Carina more than anyone else in the world, even Rolf, even Harry or Ginny or Ron or Hermione, and she believed that no matter what may happen in the future with this darkness, this parasite that had latched onto her, it would be overcome. It was simply not like Carina Black to lie there and take something like that, not ever.

Lips pressed against her hair, and for a moment, Luna was reminded of Malfoy Manor and the times after. It was so familiar, and she did not know that she had really missed being alone with Carina, her best friend, until now; she had been gone for a good couple months with Rolf, and all the other times she had visited, the children were always around, or Carina was entwined with Hermione as they all spoke. Not that that angered or bothered her, of course. However, this did feel nice.

"Thank you," Carina repeated, and that was that.

~~~xxx~~~

When Hermione came home for lunch, she found Carina and Luna sitting in the kitchen together, reclined back in chairs as they sipped at their respective butterbeer and pumpkin juice. They, it appeared, had been waiting for her, for they had a plate of untouched sandwiches and cookies sitting in the center of the table.

The entire scene was rather...normal. Like old times. (Though those had never been particularly normal)

Carina glanced up upon her arrival and lazily waved a hand; a chair next to her slowly slid out, and Hermione's bag floated from her shoulder and sat itself at the end of the table, far enough away that she could not reach it and attempt to do more paperwork.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette took her seat, and when she turned to reach for a sandwich, there was already one hovering near her nose; the corner of Carina's lips twitched upward.

Hermione rolled her eyes again, though fondly, and took the sandwich.

"I take it your day has been better than normal," she remarked.

"Better when Luna showed up," Carina offhandedly waved a hand. "Being left alone to my thoughts isn't a good thing at the moment. She brought me out of it. Thank you for telling her."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hermione swallowed a bite and sat her sandwich down; Carina passed her a goblet of pumpkin juice. "You're acting…"

"Differently?" Luna suggested. She sat her own goblet down.

"Yes."

"I'm trying to make the best of right now," her wife sipped her butterbeer. "My occlumency shields are up, so I'm not hearing any voices at the moment, though I _do_ have a pounding headache and won't be able to keep them out for long. Peaceful, but painful. I wanted to be semi normal when you came home."

"Oh, I see." Hermione understood now. Carina still did not feel right about how she constantly woke the brunette up at odd hours of the night because of her nightmares, nor about how things might go in the future if everything took a turn for the worst. She wanted to be sure Hermione got to experience the good instead of the bad for as long as she could.

 _Peaceful, but painful. Oh, Carina…_

"How was your day so far?"

"Filled with paperwork," the brunette sighed. "And the press. They were asking about our new house guests, and they believed the story we came up with. I also checked on Andromeda and the children, everyone is fine and the house wasn't blown up."

Carina leaned her head on her hand, and both Hermione and Luna picked up on the way she was subtly rubbing her temple, other hand tightening slightly on her butterbeer; the other two women exchanged looks. "That's good. Andromeda is a tough witch, she can handle them."

"Blacks are generally resilient creatures," commented Luna mildly, and the all too knowing look she gave the raven haired woman across from her caused Carina to grunt in response.

Hermione was rather curious about what they could have talked about, but knew better than to ask; things between Carina and Luna were generally private, and if either wanted her to know, they would tell her. So, she finished her sandwich in silence before leaning over to carefully hold out a hand; her wife stared at it, and then slowly clasped it in her own frighteningly cold one. The brunette jerked a bit at the chill.

"Sorry," Carina made to pull her hand back, but Hermione quickly held it tighter. Gray eyes appraised her with something akin to amusement. "Haven't had a chance to warm up."

She did not flinch, and that was a good sign; Carina had been iffy about physical contact as of late.

"It's fine," Hermione rubbed her thumb across the back of Carina's hand. "It surprised me, is all."

"I could tell." The younger woman shot Luna a glance. "Will you be staying all day, or…"

"If you'd like," the blonde shrugged. "I'd enjoy it, if you don't mi—"

"Of course not."

Luna smiled. "Good. You wanted to take the children out, didn't you?"

Hermione watched them with interest. _Take the children out?_

"Yes. I planned on doing it alone, but having you around will be a lot easier. I can't stand...well, you know. We don't want any issues."

"I know. I'll help."

"Thank you."

Their friend only smiled again and stood. "I'll give you two a moment. Your lunch break is almost over, you know."

As she left, Hermione peered over at the clock on the wall; indeed, her break was almost over. She was grateful for a friend like Luna, who understood that there were things that needed to be said.

"So," the brunette began. "You're alright?"

"For now," her wife released her hand and stood, gathering the empty plates on the table and placing them in the sink. She had, it seemed, decided not to use magic for that this time. She turned to lean against the countertop, hands bracing herself behind her. "Until I let my shields down. Then, the nightmares will come and I'll be moodier, I suppose. That's all for now. Luna had many interesting theories about how I could or couldn't be possessed."

"Possessed?" Hermione frowned. Possession was something she had only heard of when she went to church with her parents as a child; demon possession, that is. Being possessed was a terrible thing, and thus far, Carina had not shown any signs of being _possessed._ She had been far more tempermental, darker, but nothing like _that._

 _Yet._

Carina pushed herself off the counter and moved instead to sit atop the table, scooting so that she was directly in front of Hermione, long legs dangling, feet mere centimeters from the floor. "Yes. She suggested that if I were possessed, the darkness will only get stronger over time and eventually consume me. She also suggested that if I _can't_ be possessed, then its merely feeding off of what was already inside of me and increasing it, which makes me more susceptible. She said that could be why I'm the vessel; because of who I am, how I've suffered, and what I've done. She said it could be because I was the most likely candidate to do harm and lose myself, or because of how powerful a witch I am. Mad, isn't it?"

"Mad doesn't begin to cover it," Hermione sighed, and she felt terrible at the moment. The woman before her had already suffered enough already, so why did bad things have to keep happening to her? She did not deserve it. Any sins she had had already been paid for in the war, all the damage she had caused thrown back at her everytime she got hurt in battle, or tortured. The bad thing about the situation was that Hermione did not know how to help, and that made it hurt all the more for her.

"I'm used to it," the raven haired woman answered her thoughts as though she had known them all along. Perhaps she had. "Though it doesn't mean I like it. It's painful, and irritating, and I hate what it's doing to me. But I can't do anything about it, and that's why I made you promise; for that very reason. I don't want to turn into something worse than I am."

"You're not—"

"Hermione."

"No," Hermione reiterated sternly, placing her hands atop Carina's thighs and squeezing hard to get her attention. "You're not bad. You're an amazing witch, mother, and wife, and no matter what happens, I'll know who you truly are. You won't slip away, not if you can help it. You're too stubborn to just take this lying down. You'll fight it every step of the way, and that proves you aren't some monster."

Carina did not answer, merely stared, brows drawn together as she pursed her lips briefly. After a few moments, she shook her head and placed her hands over Hermione's, then slid them down the older woman's arms and back up, before taking both of Hermione's hands into her own firmly.

"You've got a lot of faith," she said finally. "Let's hope it isn't misguided."

"It isn't."

"Whatever you say, Mione." Carina leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss, and Hermione marveled at the feeling, for they had barely touched in the weeks before the outburst of the night before; the other woman had been too jumpy, too closed off, in keeping what was happening to her a secret.

When they pulled apart, it was not very far, and the brunette could feel the warm breath ghosting against her face, see the bright gray eyes regarding her. Her own eyes flickered to the clock; it was time to leave.

"I have to go." Regretfully, Hermione scooted her chair back and stood. She wished she could stay where she was, with no children to interrupt since they were gone, but knew she could not because of all the things that needed done in the office. "I suppose I'll be seeing you at dinner?"

"Of course not. I'm just going to hole myself up and never speak to you again."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at her wife, whose lips twitched and then quirked up into a small smirk; she ducked her head to hide it.

"Really?"

"Feeling well or not," Carina lifted her head and brushed back an unruly lock of black hair. "I'm positive I'll be at the dinner table tonight. You don't have to worry about me. Go do your work, Granger."

"That's Granger-Black to you," Hermione reminded, though she could not help but smile a bit. She stepped closer to the fireplace, intent on flooing back to her office, but was stopped by the rose that had been procured and held before her face. She gingerly took it. "What's this for?"

"I'm trying to make the best of right now," Carina repeated her words from earlier, and waved her off as she stepped into the fireplace and called her goodbye out alongside the name of where she was going.

The last thing she saw as she was spun away was Carina Black standing there, wincing as she turned and lifted a hand to her head.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been awhile on this one. I haven't had much time to get anything done due to classes, but I managed to scrape up this. Hopefully it's to your liking, all. *Bows***

 **I am more of a beast than human,**

 **more drunk than sober,**

 **more of anarchy than order,**

 **more of a scoundrel than a saint,**

 **more of a fallen than an angel,**

 **but she loved all of my darkness**

 **and so I gave her what's left of my light.**

 **–Daniel Saint**

Hermione took notice as, over the weeks, her wife's normally fair skin was nearly translucent now. There were dark spots under her eyes, and some days, she did not eat.

Oh, she went to work, all tousled hair and tired movements. Nothing could stop her from doing that. Carina was determined to carry on and not let anyone know there was anything wrong with her, which Hermione did not approve of. Personally, she thought the woman needed bedrest.

"You promised you'd stop overworking yourself," Hermione reminded one night.

Carina did not speak, only continued scribbling fast on her paper.

"Teddy is worried."

Still silence.

"And, Rina, I miss you. We only see each other at night because of our schedules…"

Hermione waited a few moments, but again, there was nothing. She moved over to the desk, attempting to decipher Carina's narrow, slanted handwriting. Typically it was not hard, but tonight, it was almost completely beyond her understanding.

She had just caught the words _help_ and _portal_ before the paper was suddenly flipped over.

Carina swiveled in her chair, crossing one leg over the other.

"You don't need me," she snapped. "You have Weasley, remember?"

"Carina, what are you talking about?" Hermione frowned.

"I know you've been spending more time with him at the office lately," Carina's words were harsh. "What, regretting your choices now that you're stuck married to the dark vessel? If you want to leave, go. I won't stop you."

"I never said that," Hermione said sharply. "Harry and Ron are worried. They've noticed we've been fairly off lately...they want to know how things are going."

"Noticed how _you've_ been off lately," the raven haired woman's lips twisted in obvious displeasure. "They never gave a damn about me. Don't think I haven't seen Weasley getting just a bit too close during breaks...and you, you're no better. If you looked at him any longer you'd be panting after him like a bitch in heat."

"Carina—"

"Personally, I don't see what's so appealing," Carina shrugged carelessly, and Hermione had a thought that something was very wrong right now. Her eyes were more focused, clearer than they had been in awhile. "Too many freckles. Too much fat. Too red of hair. And, let's not forget his _broomstick,_ right? I'd have thought that would be a turn off. That is, unless your feelings never went away."

"Carina," Hermione forced herself to remain calm. Getting angry would do no good right now. "I have no feelings for Ron. Not anymore. I was a confused teenager and those have long past. In case you've forgotten, I fell in love with _you._ I married and had children with _you._ I'd appreciate if you didn't insult him, regardless, because he's still my friend."

Carina scoffed. She pressed her thumb down on the pen, clicking it over and over again. The repetitive sound was setting Hermione's teeth on edge.

"And _I'd_ appreciate if you'd stop talking to the bastard, but that'll never happen, will it?"

"That's _enough."_

Carina looked positively delighted, lips curling into a smirk. "Or what, _darling?_ You can't make me do anything."

Hermione purposefully ignored the remark and continuous clicking, instead snatching the paper from the desk.

Carina sprung into action immediately, moving quicker than Hermione had seen in awhile.

Hastily, the brunette jerked the paper out of reach and backed away, scanning over it. While she still could not read some, she still got bits and pieces.

 _—going mad, need help...portal, maybe…get those kids home, find Dad…_

 _What's happening to me?_

The paper was suddenly ripped away and burnt to ashes. Carina, pen snapping in her grip, advanced slowly, the pieces slipping through her fingers to the floor.

Her eyes were dark, and she continued to stalk Hermione, who backed away cautiously.

Hermione was not afraid, but when her back hit the wall, she had to admit she got a bit nervous. It was obvious something had happened to Carina, whose body was suddenly molding with hers.

A hand found its way to her neck and rested there.

"Never do that again," Carina whispered dangerously. "Or you'll never live long enough to regret it," there was a squeeze to Hermione's neck, just enough to get the point across. "Understood?"

Suddenly mute and mind whirling, Hermione nodded.

The raven haired woman suddenly leaned closer, nose brushing Hermione's jaw, and she inhaled sharply.

"I've missed this," she murmured, hand ghosting from Hermione's throat to her hair, other hand braced on the wall by her head. Carina leaned in further, and the brunette could not help but shudder when lips trailed down her neck.

They latched onto a particular spot just at her pulse point, and Hermione could feel Carina's grin against her skin as the woman worked at the spot there. After a few short moments, she bit down, and Hermione cried out.

"Carina," the brunette finally managed. "Stop. This isn't you."

"You're mine," growled Carina, heedless of her words.

" _Carina!"_ Hermione shoved against her wife hard, and Carina pulled back, if only barely.

Hermione wasn't sure what she could do to snap Carina out of this daze, short of using magic. She hadn't been open to the idea at first, but talking, it seemed, was no longer working.

Force was the only way.

Hermione drew her wand, and just as quickly, stunned Carina, who had seen it coming and was just raising her own to block it. That brief moment of surprise, however, was what caused her to crumple to the floor, unconscious.

The brunette winced at the impact and levitated her wife to the bed.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'll be back soon."

She swept from the room to check on the children, closing the door behind her.

~~~xxx~~~

When Hermione returned, Carina was awake, huddled against the headboard of the bed.

"I don't know what happened," she whispered, sounding, for the first time in a very, very long time, terrified. "I was writing, and then…" her eyes cut up to Hermione. "I don't remember."

"Nothing," Hermione lied, moving to sit at the edge of the bed. "You were just a bit off, is all."

"Hermione," Carina's voice wavered, but her jaw clenched. "Don't do that do me. Tell me."

Hermione sighed. "You got nasty with me. You brought up Ron, like you were in some sort of jealous rage...you said I was another look away from panting after him like a bitch in heat."

"Bloody hell…"

"We argued about it, and then I grabbed your paper. You burned it and backed me into the wall," Hermione hesitated. "Then, you put your hand on my throat and told me never to do that again, and that I was _yours._ It wasn't like normal, it was too...too _possessive._ Like I was an object. Just before that," she tilted her chin up to reveal the dark hickey she had discovered minutes before. "you left this. I stunned you."

" _Bloody hell,"_ Carina moaned, and hit her head back hard. "No, no, no...I had control, I've had it…" she hit her head again.

Hastily, Hermione reached for her hands. Carina flinched back, but then carefully allowed her trembling hands to be encased in Hermione's own.

"Did I scare you?"

"No," Hermione told her softly, truthfully. "But it was unnerving."

"I'm so sorry," the other woman swallowed. "I don't know how it happened. I've had control for weeks…"

"It had to happen eventually, I suppose. Think about it, Carina. You've been exhausted, and anyone who is tired will be moody. With that multiplying it tenfold, it escalated things until your shields were broken down."

"Makes sense," her wife mumbled, before sliding from the bed.

Hermione hastily made to block her way to the door, but Carina slipped nimbly out of the way. The brunette had no choice but to hurry down the hall and halt her at the stairs, instead.

"What are you doing?"

Carina stared down at her with weary eyes. She sighed.

"Going to sleep on the couch."

"You don't have to, Carina," Hermione reached out and carefully took her wife's hand. "Come back to bed. It will be fine when you get some rest, and we both know you don't sleep well alone. Not now."

Carina only shook her head, hand slipping away. She leaned heavily against the railing. "I'll only hurt you. Or worse. I don't want to do that, Hermione."

 _Hermione._ Not Mione, not love, not anything. Just _Hermione._

It actually managed to upset the Minister, who felt tear sting her eyes. "For better or for worse, don't you remember? I swore to spend my life with you, Carina. Over a hundred years, given how long magicals live. If you give up now…"

The raven haired woman studied her, not moving as tears finally slid down Hermione's face. Furiously, she made to wipe them away.

Her arms were pushed down, and gentle hands brushed away the tears, before cupping her cheeks.

"I am not giving up on us," said Carina quietly, ducking her head to meet Hermione's eyes. "Do you understand? Whatever is happening to me...I want to be careful. Do you remember what Luna said, about being the best vessel, of my own innate darkness being increased?"

"Yes," Hermione hesitated. "You want to hurt me?"

"No," Carina shook her head, thumbs ghosting the brunette's cheeks. Her words were light. "Never. Not now. But before...when I returned from Azkaban, I repressed a lot of things. I thought it would do no good to exact my revenge on the world, not when I wanted to keep living in it. I wanted Voldemort gone more than I ever wanted any of you hurt...cooperation was the best thing, until I started to feel again. Then it got complicated. The repressed parts of me, from so long ago…it could get bad very quickly. From what you told me of how I acted, it will turn to abuse. That's why I need to be downstairs, regardless of how much sleep I get."

"I wouldn't let you do that, Carina," Hermione told her softly. "I stunned you earlier, before you got too terrible."

"But I almost got you, didn't I?" Hermione went quiet, and Carina gave her a knowing look, pulling away. "Exactly. You're an amazing witch in your own right, but I have the most power between us. Unless you outsmart me, you're at a disadvantage."

"Come to bed," the brunette repeated, straightening. "I'm not stupid, Carina. I know the risks, and I'll take it. You won't sleep well down there, and if you're up here, there's more of a chance of you getting some rest. You can take a dreamless sleep, you haven't had any in a long while yet. If you start to use them more occasionally, you should be able to get more rest and make your shields stronger."

"If I go to bed with you," said Carina finally, after a few moments' hesitation. "I'll have a dreamless sleep, alright. But you have to petrify me as well, or bind me."

"Carina—"

"No," came the sharp answer. "You restrain me, or nothing."

Hermione swallowed, conceding, "Alright. Come on."

Silently, Carina followed her to their room and climbed onto the bed, stretching her arms above her head. Hermione, after a slight hesitation, drew her wand and bound her wife's wrists with rope to the bedpost.

"There," she murmured, moving to get into bed herself. "You won't be very comfortable."

"I'm with you."

"Like that changes things…" Hermione sighed.

"Mione, hey," Carina spoke softly, tilting her head. "I'm not going to take the chance of harming the children, not when they're just down the hall. You...you're stubborn. You're a lost cause and I'm positive something will happen eventually, but not right now if I can help it. I need that dreamless sleep potion, alright?"

Hermione rummaged through a pouch under the bed, finally coming up with the correct vial, and uncorked it.

"I love you," the brunette whispered.

"I would not wish any companion in the world but you."

Hermione smiled slightly, and did not deign to cry until after her wife had taken the potion and slumped over, unconscious.

~~~xxx~~~

Carina stared down at the scroll in her hand, and then back up at Riggs.

"It will work," he reassured quietly. "We've done all the necessary research...well, what little of it we had to do. The rest, while only a guess, should turn out alright. You need to have faith."

"Faith," scoffed Carina, before moving to run the knife over her palm. She paid the gash no attention and dripped blood onto the parchment. "Of course it will work. We didn't spend a month of nonstop spellcasting and researching for nothing. "

"Don't you think you should tell the Minister?" Riggs frowned at her. "She's your wife."

"No," the woman shook her head, clenching her fingers around the knife. She gazed down at the blood splattered scroll, strode forward, and tossed it into the portal.

It flickered briefly, but was fine in less than a moment. That was to be expected, for the scroll was small, no matter how powerful.

She and Riggs had spent countless hours on what had been a normal piece of parchment. Carina had, first, written a letter explaining the current situation and just how dire it was. Then, they had cast many different spells upon it; protection spells, locator spells...the easy things. They had done many more complicated ones to keep the scroll intact, and blood magic, the last step, was how it would make it to the right dimension and the right Sirius Black (well, along with a lock of hair from Callidora, who had no idea, of course).

It was iffy, however. There was a slim chance what they wanted to happen might not at all.

Carina chose not to dwell on that fact.

"Not yet," she told Riggs firmly. "I want to be sure it will work. She doesn't need false hope."

"Look, Black," Riggs threw up his hands. "She's the Minister of Magic, our _boss,_ not just your wife! She's higher up than us and we should be reporting to her."

Carina felt her chest rumble and stepped forward, staring up at him with dark eyes. "Do it. I dare you."

Riggs gazed back, brows furrowing, before he sighed. "Yeah, alright. Whatever you say."

"Good," the woman glanced at the portal, and then at the door. "Tell me if anything changes. I need to get to a meeting."

"And by meeting, you mean having tea with your little blonde friend."

Carina only raised a brow, turned, and walked out the door.

~~~xxx~~~

Carina had been, admittedly, considerably worried about Luna since her letter a week before. The blonde had been in another country at the time, hunting for something or another with her husband Rolf, when the letter had came saying that there was news.

Carina was happy she had been able to strengthen her shields again, though the sleeping arrangements had upset Hermione. This way, she could see Luna without worry.

When she entered her home, the raven haired woman was actually quite surprised to see her entire dining room filled with people. There were various Weasleys and their children, the Potters and their children, Hermione and _their_ children…

"The bloody hell is going on here?" Carina shouted amidst the chaos.

Immediately, the room fell silent, and the great Carina Black was overrun by children.

Not one, not two, not five. _Thirteen._

Carina stumbled and fell, hitting the floor hard as several excited young children and toddlers all but pounced upon her, babbling.

The Potter children, the younger Weasley children, her _own_ children…only Evan and Callidora hung back, unsure, eyes darting about.

"Bloody hell," she repeated in a low mutter, as Teddy and Victoire took seats on either side of her. Carina raised her voice. "Am I going to be told why I'm being assaulted in my own home, or not?"

There was a snap, and then another, and five more following it. Carina blinked at the flash, before scowling when she saw Ginny taking pictures.

"Carina!" came a happy cry from behind the crowd, and through it came Luna, bright eyed and smiling. "You'll never believe it!"

Carina, detangling herself from the children, stood just in time to catch the blonde in her arms. "Believe what?"

"I'm pregnant!"

The raven haired woman stopped, unsure if she had heard correctly. "Pardon?"

"I'm pregnant!" Luna grinned at her. "Twins, two little boys!"

Carina, mind whirling, cast her eyes upon Rolf, who smiled at her rather sheepishly and ducked his head as the other men clapped him on the back and congratulated him.

"You," the raven haired woman started with a growl, before cutting herself off abruptly when she noticed Hermione's worried gaze and Luna's faltering grin. "Are one lucky man," she finished instead.

 _I'll have a chat with him later,_ Carina decided, smiling at Luna and the children's enthusiasm despite herself. _Just like at their wedding._

She'd nearly scared the pants off the poor man, though they were alright friends now and she had never hated him in the first place. She was simply, as always, looking out for Luna.

Oh, Rolf would never hurt her. He was too head over heels for it, completely smitten, but it didn't mean Carina couldn't _try_ to have a little fun with it.

With the Weasleys present (Carina noticed that Ron Weasley himself, his wife, and their son Hugo were also there), it was inevitable that there would be a party whether Carina liked it or not. Hermione had already apparently organized a celebration, and there was no stopping the brunette when she put her mind to something.

Luna danced about the room, laughing alongside everyone else as the children weaved in and out of the adults, playing tag. It was complete and utter chaos, and to be honest, Carina had never felt better.

Or, well, not since the darkness entered. But, _still_ rather good.

"Mumma!" cried Rigel, rushing over to hug her around the leg. "You okay now?"

"We haven't seen you in _ages!"_ Caelum flung his arms out exaggeratedly, joining his brother on her other leg.

Something hit her back, and instinctively, taking her hands from her boys' heads, Carina grabbed the legs of Rose. Chubby little arms wrapped around her neck, nearly choking her, but she paid it no mind.

"Hi, Mumma," giggled Rose.

"We miss you!"

"Are you and Mummy fighting?"

"Why haven't you played with us?"

"Why are you always gone, Mumma?"

Carefully, Carina crouched down and let Rose slide off her back and join her brothers. Her children, all wide eyed and innocent, stared at her.

Carina almost wanted to tell them the truth, but they were too young. Her head clear, she instead smiled and said, "I'll take a vacation, how about that? Then, I can spend more time with you all and Mummy."

Her research and work were done for now. She had time.

Rigel, Caelum, and Rose all cheered loudly, bouncing off to inform anyone and everyone that, "Mumma is havin' a 'cation!"

Hermione beckoned her, and Carina obediently slunk through the crowd and to the corner of the room.

"Taking a 'cation, are you?" her wife questioned.

"I can afford to," Carina said softly, leaning against the wall to stare at Hermione. She had not noticed, but the stress of having to carry everything like this was getting to the brunette.

To anyone else, she would have looked mildly ruffled. To Carina, she looked completely frazzled.

The poor woman was taking on so much. She deserved a break.

"You are, too."

"What?" Hermione looked startled.

"Taking a vacation."

"Carina, I'm the Minister, I can't just—"

"Kingsley is vice minister for this exact reason," Carina reminded, and lightly tugged at Hermione's arm.

Absently, Hermione followed, arguing all the way. "There's still so much to do, you don't understand! I have conferences, court cases, interviews, paperwork, I need to meet with the French Minister and then have a meeting with McGonagall and do some research on interdimensional travel and then—"

Carina leaned down to kiss her.

Hermione stopped speaking, and Carina pulled back, fondly shaking her head.

"Calm down, love," she murmured.

"Carina, there are people watching—"

The raven haired woman shook her head again, unable to stop the soft laughter from escaping her as she leaned down to plant kisses down her wife's neck.

"I doubt they'll see anything," Carina trailed her hands expertly from Hermione's sides to the small of her back, tugging her closer. "Perhaps if you paid better attention…" she planted a kiss to the brunette's jaw.

As lips ghosted over the shell of her ear, Hermione let out a quiet gasp and gripped at Carina's hips. "How did you…"

"You were distracted," Carina flicked her fingers at the door, which closed. The lock clicked. She lifted Hermione up against the wall.

Even as the kisses resumed, slowly moving from her jaw, to her neck, to just above her breasts, Hermione managed to speak.

"I thought...y-your mind…"

"Clear," Carina sucked at Hermione's pulse point, just above where she had left the last mark a week ago. "For once." She growled low in her throat. "Why not enjoy it while we can?"

Any response Hermione had was lost when Carina kissed her lips hard, one of the hands on her rear slipping to another spot entirely.

Their absence would later be noticed, though not questioned, and they would not emerge until after the party had ended.


End file.
